Amnesia
by Crystal Cove
Summary: [COMPLETE] Sequel to Death Becomes Them. Harry Potter has just lost the most important person in his life: Sirius Black. But, what happens when Harry sees a man who resembles Sirius exactly, roaming the streets with no memory of who he is or where he is?
1. Chapter 1

A/N: Hope you like!

* * *

Chapter One

"Everyone's worried about you, Harry," Remus said softly as he came into Sirius's old room. Harry's fifth year was over, and Harry had closed himself off from everyone.

"Why? I'm fine," Harry replied dismissively.

"You're not," Remus replied, sitting down on Harry's bed.

"You don't understand," Harry said, tears blurring his vision. "You don't understand the last thing I told Sirius before he went missing. And then killed."

"I know you two were in an argument," Remus said.

"I told him that I hated him," Harry choked out, feeling the lump in his throat get bigger. Harry looked up at Remus desperately. "But I don't. And now, he'll never know that." Remus didn't know anything to say to Harry to make him feel better. That would have been Sirius's expertise.

"Harry—"

"Can you leave me be, please?" Harry asked, interrupting Remus. "I just want to be alone right now."

"Yeah," Remus said, getting up. "Of course." He gave Harry another glance before shutting the door on his way out. Harry looked out the window. It was sunny and bright. It made him disgusted, it should be grey, dull and storming. Because that's exactly what Harry felt like.

He wouldn't have the chance to tell Sirius that he loved him. Harry didn't even know why he had said that in the first place, because Harry didn't hate Sirius. He could _never _hate Sirius.

Harry got up from the bed, opening the door and walking into the kitchen. "I'm going out," Harry said to Remus as he slipped on some shoes and slammed the door shut before Remus could say anything.

Harry shuffled his feet as he walked down the road, looking at the playground that stood in front of him. Just looking at that playground reminded him of Matt, and when they had first met. And almost immediately became friends.

After Sirius had fell through the veil, it seemed his whole life crumbled in front of him. Matt was gone, Sirius was gone and Harry was left with no one. Except for Remus, but Harry wasn't sure that Remus would be able to adopt him because of his condition.

Harry's thoughts were so jumbled they seemed to blend together until they became one. He didn't know what to think, or how to act. The only thing thought that really stood out and wasn't mixed with the others, was the fact that Sirius and Matt were gone. He set his foot into the sand of the playground, but quickly pulled back. He wouldn't set foot in that playground, it brought back too many memories. Good and fun memories.

Harry bypassed the playground, going anywhere that his feet would take him. It didn't matter where, just that he was gone. Away from everything that was in his past. He kept his eyes on the ground, suddenly interested in the pavement that he walked across. The only time he looked up was to look where he was, or where he was going.

Everywhere was packed with people, cars and shops. People crowded around a café, eager to get some coffee in the late afternoon. The streets were filled with cars, and the sidewalks with pedestrians.

So far during his summer break, he hadn't visited or talked to Isabella, her husband or baby. He didn't even know if Isabella knew about Sirius's death, but she was the last person he wanted to talk to.

"Sorry," Harry muttered as he banged into someone's shoulder.

"Er—excuse me," a male's voice said. Harry looked up, turning pale. He couldn't move, or blink, or talk. He could only stare at the man he banged into. "Could you tell me where I am?"

"Uh, s-sorry?" Harry stuttered, trying to stop staring. It wasn't as easy as he thought.

"I don't know where I am," the man said, looking troubled.

"What-what's your name?" Harry asked, feeling his heart speed up. He looked so much like—

"I don't know," the man replied. "I have no clue…"

-

A/N: Sorry if it wasn't as exciting as you'd have hoped. I'll post the next chapter soon!

All right, so, I'll be looking forward to your reviews!

Crystal Cove


	2. Chapter 2

A/N: Thank you for the reviews so far! I already had this one finished, so I decided to go ahead and post it. As you all may have already knew (or suspected) there will be _**no**_sequel to this. Well, enjoy!

* * *

Chapter Two 

"I don't know," the man replied. "I have no clue…"

"You mean you have no idea who you are?" Harry said. He suddenly felt butterflies in the pit of his stomach. It couldn't be Sirius. He—he fell behind the veil. But, this man looked like him so much. The dark hair, the blue eyes…

"That's exactly what I mean," the man replied. He looked at Harry oddly. "Do I know you for somewhere? You seem a bit familiar."

At those words, Harry's heart soared. This had to be Sirius, there was no doubt about it. "Come with me," Harry ordered, turning around, hoping that Sirius would follow. When he turned his head around, Sirius was still standing there. "Aren't you coming?"

"Where?" Sirius (most likely) asked.

"To our home," Harry replied.

"Our?" Sirius said, looking even more confused.

"If you come with me, I'll explain." After that, without any hesitation, Sirius followed.

-

"There you are, Harry," Remus said, freezing as he saw who was with Harry. "Who—?"

"It's confusing," Harry said, glancing at Sirius. "But this…is Sirius."

"Sirius?" Sirius repeated. "That's my name?" Harry nodded.

Remus turned ashen. "Sirius? Harry, how is that possible? We all saw Sirius fall through the—"

"Yes!" Harry interrupted, scowling. "I know that. We witnessed it. But look at him—just look Remus!" Harry looked at the extremely confused Sirius standing beside him. "It's Sirius. He's alive and he's real."

"But Harry," Remus argued, still not looking convinced. "_How _is that possible?"

"Don't ask me," Harry said. Why was Remus being so difficult? "I just bumped into him on the streets. Right now, the only thing that matters is that Sirius is alive, and by the looks of it, well."

"Can I lay down?" Sirius asked suddenly. "I've gotta headache."

"Yeah, yeah sure," Remus replied distractedly. "You can lay down in your room. Harry and I need to talk right now."

"My room?" Sirius repeated. "Where's that?"

"Here, I'll show you," Harry offered. He took Sirius by the arm and led him into the room. None of this seemed real at all, yet, it was.

"Thanks," Sirius said to Harry. Harry just gave a nod and walked back over to Remus, who was waiting for Harry on the couch.

"_What _do you want to talk about, Remus?" Harry said with a sigh. He sat down beside Remus, hardly wanting to talk. He just wanted to go rejoice that Sirius was alive.

"About what happened," Remus said calmly. "Start from the first."

"All right," Harry agreed slowly. "I wanted to get some fresh air, and then I bumped into Sirius in the streets."

"Streets? Where were you, Harry?" Harry paused.

"Er—I was around the Coffee Café."

"Okay, so were you _beside _the Coffee Café? In front?"

"In front."

"What direction did 'Sirius' come from?" Remus inquired.

"_Why _are you asking me all of these questions?" Harry exclaimed, jumping up from the couch. "Sirius is your best friend, and I thought you of all people would be happy that he's alive!"

"I am happy, Harry," Remus replied. "It just seems so…far-fetched. Don't you think?"

"I don't know what to think," Harry responded. "I don't want to think. I just want to be happy that my godfather is alive. I've lost Matt, Remus. I just couldn't bear to lose Sirius. And even though Matt can't come back to life, somehow Sirius has."

"I know that," Remus said calmly. "Proof is probably sleeping in the bedroom down the hall."

"Exactly!" Harry exclaimed. This argument was pointless, Harry thought to himself. "So why are you being so pessimistic about this?" Harry left Remus sitting on the couch in the living room and went down the hall, stopping in front of Sirius's bedroom. Hesitantly, Harry opened the door.

Sirius lay, looking a bit uncomfortable, on the bed. Sound asleep. Harry crept over to Sirius's bed, quietly sitting down by Sirius's side. Remus was right, Harry knew. It seemed so…impossible. But, Sirius was there, in the flesh, sleeping in his usual bed that he always used to sleep in.

"I don't hate you," Harry said quietly. "I don't know why I ever told you that. I was angry and upset, with Matt's funeral and all. But I don't hate you.  
"At first I thought that I'd never get the chance to tell you different," Harry continued. "I'm just thankful I get the chance now." With a quick, small grin, Harry got up from the bed and opened the door. Once he was outside of Sirius's bedroom, he quietly closed the door behind him, careful not to wake Sirius up.

-

A/N: Thanks for your reviews! I love them. I actually received one e-mail from (I will say no name. (S)he will be anonymous) _someone, _asking if this was a slash. If you have read any of my other previous stories that connect to this one, you will know that this is no slash.

Review Responses:

WolfbainKohaku: Thanks! I like the title, too. Well, you know me, I am very fast at updating so I hope you like this chapter.

Chaos023: You'll just have to read...Ooh, thank you. You're just too kind... :-)

Jessica01: Thank you, hope you like the chappie. Third chapter will be posted soon.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter Three

"Will you just drop it?" Harry hissed, feeling aggravation bubble up inside of him. "_Why _aren't you happy that Sirius is _alive?_ Would you rather him dead, Remus?"

Remus scowled. "Of course I don't, Harry! I'm just not convinced."

"So what do you think he is, exactly?" Harry asked, somewhat sarcastically. "A Death Eater using a wand or a potion to change their appearance to make it look like they're really Sirius?"

"Perhaps," Remus considered. "You never know, Harry."

"He's lost his memory!" Harry exclaimed. "He doesn't know who we are, or who he is."

"Just be careful," Remus said softly. "Whether or not it _is _really Sirius, just be careful."

"I am," Harry replied, the chafe in his voice grow dim until it was just as calm and soft as Remus's voice. A yell from Sirius's room startled the two, and Harry acted quickly. He raced to the room, looking around. Everything was perfect.

"What's wrong?"

"I-I-" Sirius looked pale and surprised. "I-I'm going crazy!" Remus, who had come up behind Harry, glanced at the boy.

"What happened?" Harry asked, still feeling his heart pound in his chest.

"You won't believe me if I told you," Sirius said, sitting down on the bed, not trusting his legs.

"You'll never know unless you tell," Harry said, sitting down beside his godfather.

"Something happened to me," Sirius said slowly, almost unsurely. "I-I think I turned into a dog."

"A dog?" Harry repeated, casting Remus a 'I told you so' look. Sirius nodded.

"Go ahead, say I'm crazy." He paused, waiting to hear laughter from Remus and Harry. None.

"You're not crazy, though," Harry replied. "You did turn into a dog." Sirius looked taken aback, but he said nothing. He just kept quiet. "We'll explain everything after," Harry promised, glancing at Remus.

"There's _more_?" Sirius asked, remembering Harry's explanation the day before. Some things still weren't that clear to him, the only thing that he knew was that he had 'amnesia.'

"There's more," Harry confirmed. "_A lot _more."

"_How _much more?" Sirius asked cautiously. He looked back and forth at Harry and Remus, Harry who wasn't in any rush to reply, and Remus who was leaning against the doorframe. He, too, looked in no hurry to answer Sirius. "Please, take your time," Sirius said sarcastically.

Harry hesitated before answering. He could just imagine at that moment what would happen if he explained about everything—magic, Hogwarts…look how Sirius reacted when he accidentally turned into the dog.

"Sirius," Harry started. "If I tell you, will you promise not to overreact?"

"It depends," Sirius replied slowly. Harry chewed on the bottom of his lip, glancing up at Remus. Was it a bit too early to start explaining everything to Sirius? _Too late now, _Harry thought.

"Sirius, what would you say if I told you that you're magical?" Harry reluctantly asked, finding that was the only thing he could say.

"I'd say you're crazy," Sirius replied without any hesitation.

"Then tell me I'm crazy," Harry said. "Because I'm telling you that you're magical."

Sirius snorted in disbelief, but that expression quickly left his face as he saw Harry and Remus's serious faces. "You're serious, aren't you?"

"Dead serious," Harry responded, knowing this was no time for joking matters.

"So what?" Sirius asked. "I have magical powers?"

"In a way," Remus spoke up from the doorway.

"Can I turn people into ice?" Sirius said jokingly. "Speed up, slow down, stop time? Clairvoyance? Am I faster than a speeding bullet?" He paused to put a finger on his chin in mock think. "Am I your regular Superman?" Remus looked absolutely clueless.

"It's not like that," Harry said, ignoring Remus's questioning looks. "When I say magic I mean wands."

"Wands," Sirius repeated. "Bibbity-bobbity-boo wands?" If possible, Remus looked even more confused.

"In a way," Harry replied, remembering Remus's words. "Except not like that."

"My brain's going to explode," Sirius complained, closing his eyes and rubbing his temples.

"Why don't I let Remus explain some things to you about your Hogwarts days?" Harry suggested. "Maybe some of what he'll tell you will trigger your memory."

"Hogwarts?" Sirius repeated, looking as confused as Remus had.

"Just let Moony tell you."

"Moony?" Harry sighed, giving up. He got up from the bed and walked past Remus, stopping along the way.

"Can I talk to you for a second?" Harry asked, glancing at Sirius who looked like he was taking everything in.

"Sure," Remus agreed, following Harry out of earshot. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing," Harry replied. "Just a bit confused. Sirius doesn't know who he is or who any of us are—yet he knows who Superman is and what 'bibbity-bobbity-boo' means."

"Even _I _don't know who Superman is or what bibbity-bobbity-boo means," Remus said, he shot Harry a puzzled look. "What _is _that?"

Harry shook his head in a 'I'll-tell-you-later' way. "Just try talking to Sirius. Answer some of his questions if he has any, and tell him about Hogwarts. About you, James, Peter. The Marauders." Remus nodded his head in agreement.

"We'll have a talk with Dumbledore after. Maybe he knows what's going on with the whole 'Sirius-is-alive' thing," he said. But he didn't look convinced.

-

"He bumped into me," Harry continued. "Around, er, Coffee Café. He didn't know who I was, who he was, or _where _he was."

"Where is he now?" Dumbledore questioned.

"At home," Harry replied. "Probably sleeping. We explained _everything _to him, which is quite a lot to take in."

"Indeed," Dumbledore agreed.

"What do you think happened?" Remus cut in. "_How _is Sirius alive? I'm just not convinced."

"We know that already," Harry said in annoyance. "At least I do."

"Well," Dumbledore said slowly. "When Sirius fell through the veil, he must have landed somewhere around this 'Coffee Café' without any memory of anything."

"So, it's really Sirius?" Harry asked, trying to keep his excitement down low. He fought the urge to jump up and say, "Told you so!"

"It's possible," Dumbledore responded. "Harry, do you remember when you had amnesia?" Harry remembered Sirius telling him about that. Once.

"A bit," Harry admitted.

"Well, it wasn't too long before you started having flashbacks," Dumbledore explained. "If it really is Sirius, then he'll start having flashbacks about events. That'd be your proof if it really is him or not."

"So if Sirius starts having flashbacks about 'events,' that'd prove that it's really Sirius and not someone in disguise?" Harry asked, feeling a wave of relief wash over him. This was Sirius—he knew it.

"Precisely," Dumbledore replied. Harry nodded in reply. Harry knew it was Sirius; flashbacks or not.

-

A/N: Thank you very much for the reviews.

Review Responses:

WolfbainKohaku: Thank you for the review! I actually don't mind slash, though. I sometimes like to read it. Well, anyway, thanks again!

dancegirlem24: Thank you, and all right. Hehe, very clever having the 'em' in both names!

Rocks-my-socks: Thanks.

LittleCrazy1: Thank you! I love the reviews, keep 'em coming :-)

Jessica01: Well, keep reading. (I'm not going to say if it is him or not. Just keep reading.) :-)


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter Four

"And just _where _are you going?" Harry asked. Sirius looked up, alarmed. His expression soon changed as he saw who it was.

"Out," he replied.

"Where?" Harry questioned. He walked over to stand in front of the door, blocking Sirius's exit. Sirius frowned.

"Why can't I go outside?"

"Several reasons," Harry replied. "But, I guess I can let you go outside if I come with you."

Sirius looked at Harry's feet. "Get some shoes on, then." He waited patiently until Harry was dressed. "Can I go out now?"

Harry grinned faintly, opening the door to let the blazing sunshine pour in. "So where were you planning to go?" Harry asked casually, closing the door behind him as he stepped out into the brilliant sunshine. Sirius shrugged.

"Anywhere. I felt too cooped up in there."

Harry felt a grin tugging at the side of his lips. "Sorry."

"It's all right," Sirius replied, looking ahead of him. "I know you think I'm some sort of imposture." Harry froze in his spot.

"I don't think that," Harry responded truthfully. Sirius turned around to look at him.

"You do," he said simply.

"All right," Harry admitted. He thrust his hands into his jean pockets, taking a few steps up. "I'll admit, I'm not sure _what _to think anymore."

"You can think whatever you want," Sirius said as softly as the summer breeze. "Because I don't care." Harry kept quiet, not knowing how to respond. So, Sirius continued. "I'm leaving." Harry's head shot up, looking at Sirius.

"What?"

"That's right," Sirius said more confidently. "I'm leaving."

"You can't leave!" Harry exclaimed, feeling astonished.

"And why can't I?" Sirius asked, turning around to face the boy. "Why not? You can't make me stay in that house forever."

"Y-you just can't," Harry stuttered. "Where would you go? You can't leave me again, Padfoot!"

"I don't know what you're talking about," Sirius said with a shake of his head. He leaned up against a building that was behind him. "You think I'm someone that you thought was dead, at least, that's what I get out of this. What if I'm not?"

"You are though," Harry argued. "How could you have turned into that dog?"

"I don't know!" Sirius exclaimed, throwing his hands up in the air. "I just don't know. But I do know that by tomorrow evening, I'm out of here."

"No, you're not," Harry said. "You're staying here."

"I'm not," Sirius argued, frowning. "Why are you arguing with me? You can't make me."

"No, I can't," Harry said. "But I want you to stay. Please, Sirius."

Sirius smirked. "You think your imploring will make me stay?" Harry's brow creased at Sirius's harsh voice.

"What?"

Sirius shook his head, looking weary. "I'm sorry," he took a deep breath. "I'm a little cranky. But really, Harry, I can't stay here anymore."

"Why not?" Harry asked, trying not to look or feel hurt. "I know you don't remember anything, Sirius, but you will. Please stay."

"I've made up my mind," Sirius said decidedly, staring into space. "Tomorrow evening I'm leaving. I'm sorry, but you'll just have to forget about me."

"I can't do that," Harry argued, feeling tears bubble in his eyes. "You can't leave. _Please, _Sirius." Sirius shook his head.

"Sorry, but I've made up my mind."

-

"He's what?" Remus exclaimed loudly as Harry retold his and Sirius's argument.

"That's right," Harry said. He sat down on the couch, folding his arms across his chest. "He's leaving tomorrow. I tried to persuade him not to, but he's so stubborn."

"We'll think of something," Remus said comfortingly, sitting down beside Harry. "He's not leaving."

Harry shook his head, unconvinced. Knowing Sirius, he'd somehow find a way to leave. "Speaking of Sirius, where is he?"

"Probably in his room," Remus answered. "He spends most of his time in there."

"D'you think maybe I could try talking him out of it again?" Harry said.

"You could try," Remus said. "But Sirius mind is set on this—it'll be hard to try to tell him otherwise." Harry got up and made his way down the hall to Sirius's room. He knocked on the door, waiting for Sirius to open up.

"Sirius?" Harry called when he didn't answer. "Open the door up, Sirius!" He tapped his foot on the hardwood floor impatiently when Sirius still didn't reply. "I don't care if I'm invading any privacy," Harry muttered to himself, reaching out for the handle. He turned it; the door swinging open. "Remus!" Harry called in a shaky voice. He grasped the handle tightly for support; his knuckles turning a sickly white. "Remus!" He hollered again when Remus didn't come.

"What?" Remus asked, coming up to Harry. He suddenly looked more concerned at Harry's pale expression. "Harry, what is it?"

"It's Sirius," Harry managed to get out. "He's gone."

-

A/N: Sorry for the short update. Anyway, thank you very much for your reviews!


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter Five

"What?" Remus asked, coming up to Harry. He suddenly looked more concerned at Harry's pale expression. "Harry, what is it?"

"It's Sirius," Harry managed to get out. "He's gone."

"What?" Remus's eyes scanned the room. Harry was right; Sirius was gone. "Where could he have gone to?"

"I don't know," Harry said, stepping into Sirius's empty room. "No windows are open, we would've known if he went out the front or back door. It makes no sense…"

"All right, what if he's hiding in the house somewhere?" Remus suggested. (A/N: Ah, LittleCrazy1 :-D)

"I don't think so," Harry replied. "We would've heard the door open. And we'd also hear Sirius—you know how noisy he is."

"True," Remus agreed. "I just don't know where he could've gone to. He can't apparate; he wouldn't know how to."

Realization washed over Harry like a wave. It wasn't Sirius. "I'm sorry," He said out loud to Remus. "I should have believed you when you said that it wasn't Sirius—"

"What are you saying?" Remus interrupted. "That that wasn't Sirius?"

"It looks that way," Harry responded, feeling a lump in his throat. "I—I just wanted it to be Sirius. I…I couldn't imagine losing him, and now I have—"

"Shh," Remus instructed softly. "No more, Harry."

"It's just so obvious now," Harry said, sniffing to keep the tears back. "He _was_ someone using a wand or potion to change their appearance."

"Do you think it was a Death Eater?" Remus asked.

"Yeah," Harry agreed. "I do. At least… I think I do."

"AH!" A scream from outside the bedroom door made Harry jump. The only name came to mind—Sirius.

"Sirius?" Harry called, rushing out of the bedroom and to the kitchen.

"H-Harry?" Sirius called back, a note of fear and pain was palpable in his voice.

"Sirius? Where are you?"

"I'm sorry," Sirius called up from a place that was unknown to Harry. "I tried to leave, and I got my foot caught!"

Harry peered down into the black darkness of the basement. "You went down in the basement? Why?" There was a pause of hesitation before Sirius replied.

"I thought there was a way to get out from down here."

"Why didn't you just crawl out of the window or something?" Harry called back down, shrugging inwardly. It was what he would've done.

"I don't know!" Sirius called up exasperatedly. "Just come down and help me!"

"All right," Harry muttered, taking two steps downstairs.

"Harry," Remus said. Harry looked up questioningly. "Why don't I go down? Just in case—"

"I'll be fine," Harry interrupted with what he hoped was a reassuring smile, though his face felt stiff. He wasn't convinced at his own words, he had to admit. "Don't worry."

"With you, it's hard not to," Remus replied with a grin. Harry just shook his head, a faint smile playing on his lips as he made his way down the steep stairs.

"Sirius?" He called into the darkness.

"Over here," Sirius replied gruffly.

"Over where?" Harry asked. "And don't sound like that—it doesn't sound like you."

"Sorry," Sirius apologized, though he sounded anything but. "I'm in pain, I'm not exactly going to be patient and calm."

"Well, try to," Harry replied, he held his hands out in front of him, making his way down into the basement. A flashlight would be really handy in this situation, Harry realized. He shook his head, stumbling as he tripped over something.

"Sirius?" He asked. "What are you doing on the floor?" Without any hesitation Sirius stood up from the ground, though when he looked Harry in the eyes, Harry found he had hard, cold grey eyes instead of the warm, laughable, welcoming blue eyes that the real Sirius Black had.

"You're not Sirius," Harry said in a whisper.

"How very clever of you," the man (which Harry realized was Lucius Malfoy) said.

"REMUS!" Harry yelled at the top of his lungs before Lucius could say anything or do anything. "HELP! IT'S NOT SIRI—" By now, Lucius had clamped his hand over Harry's mouth. Getting angrier by the minute, Harry bit Lucius's hand until the older man had to let go. "IT'S NOT SIRIUS! HELP!" His grey eyes blazing, Lucius put his hand back over Harry's mouth.

"Shut up," he hissed. And before Harry could do anything, or bite Lucius's hand again, he felt something hard come down on his head, and he knew that consciousness just didn't want him anymore.

-

A/N: Sorry if it's a bit short, but I wanted to live you all hanging. A story just wouldn't be good without any cliffhangers! Though, sometimes cliffhangers are annoying. With me, though, you probably know how instantaneously and contiguously I update, so it shouldn't be that annoying.

Anyhow, thank you for the reviews and I hope I'll be seeing more of them!


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter Six

"Harry?" Remus called down into the darkness. "Harry?" He repeated himself as no one answered. Without any hesitation, he walked down the steps until his feet touched the cold, hard cement floor of the basement. He flicked on the lights, and to his surprise found the basement empty. Harry was gone, along with Sirius.

-

Harry awoke, his head pounding. His vision, which was unfocused and blurry, quickly went back to normal as he blinked several times.

"Ugh," he let out a groan, his body aching. He tried to haul himself up so he could stand on his feet, but failed. His eyes wandered the cell he was being kept in. It was dark, grey and dull. It looked unfamiliar to him, and he suddenly started to wonder where he was or where Lucius Malfoy was.

A low whimper from the darkness from the other side of the cell startled Harry. He didn't know there was another prisoner in the cell with him.

"Hello?" He called out softly, unsure of what to say. The whimpering soon stopped, and he was left with the eerie silence once again.

"Harry?" A male's voice questioned. The voice carried hope along with uncertainness.

Harry found to his surprise that his voice shook. "Who are you?"

"Harry?" The voice repeated, this time excitedly and relieved sounding. Harry held his breath as the figure came closer to him. He wished at that second when the mans face came out of the shadows that he had something sturdy to grasp onto, even though he wasn't standing.

"Get away from me," he said through clenched teeth. He wouldn't fall for that again.

"It's me," the man said desperately. "It's really me, Harry."

"Get away from me," Harry said, sounding more sure of himself. His anger never ceased as the man looked hurt. _This isn't Sirius,_ Harry thought to himself. _It's not Sirius, it's not Sirius... _

"It's really me," he tried again. "Why won't you believe me, Harry?"

"I said get away," Harry said dismissively. Using all the strength he could muster, he got up on his feet and tried to limp away, but fell in the process. He cursed under his breath.

"You shouldn't try to stand," the man spoke up. "You'll hurt yourself again."

"I don't need advice from you," Harry snapped. "Just leave me alone."

"Harry—"

"Don't talk to me," Harry said through clenched teeth. "I don't know who you are, or why you're impersonating Sirius—"

"Impersonating?" The man echoed, looking perplexed. "I'm not impersonating anyone, Harry." Harry opened his mouth, but was cut off by Lucius Malfoy, who appeared in front of him. Though, he was on the other side of the bars.

"I hope I'm not interrupting a reunion of any sort."

"There's no 'reunion'," Harry said coldly. "I'm not falling for that again."

"Too bad," Malfoy drawled. "I did have you fooled, though, did I not?" Harry clenched his teeth together until they hurt. He balled his hands into a fist, leaving deep fingernail cuts in his palm. He said nothing until Lucius Malfoy left.

"You're bleeding," the man observed, noting drops of blood on Harry's hand.

"I'm fine," Harry said dismissively, wiping his palm over his jeans. He did everything he could not to look into the man's face, since he was just a replica of Sirius. Just like Lucius had looked…

"Are you sure?" The man questioned.

"I'm positive," Harry replied angrily.

"You have to believe me," the man said suddenly. He crawled up closer to Harry. "It's really, really me."

"I'm not making that mistake again," Harry said coldly. Though, when Lucius had taken form of Sirius it was really Harry himself who kept insisting that this was Sirius. He wanted to believe it so bad…

"Ask me anything," the man continued. "Anything at all. I'll answer any question you give me." Harry eyed the desperate man warily. He bit his lip in thought, trying to come up with a question that only Sirius would know, and nobody else.

"All right," Harry said slowly. Only one question came to him, and he was surprised that he was able to get it out through the lump that had formed in his throat. "When did I first meet Matt O'Brien and how old was I?"

Without any hesitation or thought, Sirius replied, "On your birthday. July 31st, you were turning eight years old. I took you out to the park and you met Matt and his mum, Isabella, there." Harry could do nothing but stare at the man. "Do you believe me now?"

"Anyone could have known that," Harry lied. He knew that only Sirius could have known and been that precise, but he didn't want to fall for that again. He should have listened to Remus.

"What am I going to have to do to prove that it really is me?" Harry didn't bother to answer the man at all. And to his surprise, he landed himself into an uncomfortable sleep.

-

"—They're gone," Remus finished.

"Are you sure that that was Sirius?" Dumbledore questioned.

"I'm not," Remus admitted. "I've had doubts." He paused before continuing. "I remember hearing Harry call out something."

"Do you remember what?"

"It sounded like he was yelling out, 'It's not Sirius.' But his voice was cut off a couple times."

"And when you went down they were gone," Dumbledore said, sighing. Remus nodded.

"_I _should have went down. I shouldn't of let Harry go down there, at least not by himself."

"Don't worry," Dumbledore said. "We'll find him."

-

Harry's eyes fluttered open. As soon as his eyes adjusted to the darkness, he found the man sitting on the cold ground not far from him, his back leaning against the greybrick wall. His head was bowed, and he had his knees pulled up against his chest. Harry didn't know any way to start up a conversation with the man, so he kept quiet.

"You're awake," the man said numbly as he looked up. Harry nodded, rubbing his temples as he felt another headache coming on.

"Who are you? Really?" Harry finally asked, looking up from the ground and into the mans eyes.

"I already told you who I was," the man replied. "You just don't believe me." He sounded so sincere, it was hard for Harry not to believe everything he said.

"One more question," Harry said quietly. "When I was eight what disease did I get?" Harry looked at the man patiently, waiting for him to answer. If this really and truly was Sirius, he'd know.

The man looked thoughtful before answering Harry's question. "The common cold."

-

A/N: All right, anyway…here's the chapter! I was waiting until I had twenty reviews (which I have now) to post this chapter. So, hope you enjoy, and thank you for the reviews!


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter Seven

The man looked thoughtful before answering Harry's question. "The common cold." Harry didn't know how to react. So he just kept still, staring into space. "So," the man said, grinning. "How'd I do?"

"How did you know?" Harry finally asked, though he already knew the answer.

"Do I have to tell you again?" The man asked, sounding a bit annoyed.

"Are you really?" Harry now had clear evidence that this was Sirius. Only the real Sirius would have known that; not an impersonator. Harry smiled. "I'd come over and hug you," he paused, glancing at his leg. "But I don't dare move." His grin getting wider, Sirius sidled over towards Harry, wrapping his arms around the boy and squeezing him gently. He planted a kiss on the top of Harry's head.

"I've missed you."

"I've missed you, too," Harry replied. "And I didn't mean what I said before—" Harry took in a deep, shaky breath and slowly let it out. Need he really bring that up again?

"It's all right," Sirius said in a soft voice. "I know you didn't."

"I was just upset," Harry continued. "I really, really didn't mean it."

"I know," Sirius said. "Just let it go."

"What happened?" Harry finally asked. "How are you-I mean how is this—" He let out a frustrated sigh.

"How am I here?" Sirius looked into the shadows at the other side of the cell, thinking hard. "I'm not entirely sure. I just remember waking up in this…cell," Sirius explained, looking disgusted. "How did _you _end up here?"

"I bumped into 'you' on the streets," Harry said, not feeling in the mood to go into an in-depth explanation. "Except it wasn't 'you'. It was Lucius Malfoy changing his appearance to look like you."

"So that's it," Sirius said in an understanding voice. They both stayed in quiet silence until Harry spoke up.

"What's going on?" he asked. "What's Malfoy going to do?"

"I don't know," Sirius admitted. Harry looked around, hoping to find someplace Sirius could crawl through and get out, or climb. His eyes wandered the walls until he had to bend his head back to look up.

"Do you see that?" Harry asked in a quiet voice, just in case Lucius Malfoy was nearby and could hear. Sirius followed Harry's gaze until he saw a beam of light not too high up, but not too far down.

"Why haven't I seen that window before?"

"Siri," Harry started slowly. "Why don't you try climbing the wall?"

"I don't think I'm going to be able to carry you," Sirius said, glancing up at the window once more. "And I doubt I could climb the wall. There aren't steps I could walk on to get up to the window, Harry."

"Don't worry about me," Harry said. "And just try to climb up. It's worth a try."

"And leave you here? I don't think so."

"Do you _have _to be so stubborn?"

"'Fraid so," Sirius replied with a grin. "And you can forget about me leaving you here."

"It could be your only way out," Harry pointed out. "So we're going to find a way for you to reach that window."

"Don't you mean 'we'?" Sirius asked with raised eyebrows.

"No," Harry said. "I meant what I said. You."

"No way," Sirius said defiantly. "I'm staying here with you." Harry groaned. "So," Sirius said conversationally. "Have you visited Isabella yet?"

"Actually, I haven't," Harry admitted. "With everything that's been going on."

"I see," Sirius said. They both fell into another awkward relapse of silence.

-

Remus sat with arms folded across his chest on the couch. He felt annoyed that he couldn't do anything to help Harry, wherever Harry was. First of all, though, he had to find out where Harry was and _then _figure out a way to help the boy. He groaned inwardly as the doorbell rang. Getting up from the comfy couch and abandoning his thoughts, he opened the door to see a young woman standing on the porch.

"Oh," the woman said cheerfully. "I don't believe we've met. My name's Isabella O'—uh…Jessup."

"Remus Lupin," Remus responded distractedly.

"Are Harry and Sirius around?" Isabella asked, biting her lip. A habit that was all to familiar to Remus, since Harry would sometimes do the exact same thing. "I was hoping they'd come over sometime. It'd be nice to see them. So, I decided that I'd come over and visit them."

"Actually," Remus started. He paused, wondering if Isabella knew about Sirius's 'death.' "They're, uh, not. Just missed them."

"Oh," Isabella said, looking disappointed. "Will you tell them I came by?" Remus nodded. "Thanks." Remus nodded again, shutting the door and walking back to the couch. There _had _to be some way he could find Harry. Remus already had a suspicion that it was a Death Eater who had kidnapped Harry, but which one?

-

Harry drummed his fingers against the concrete floor, leaning against thebrick wall. He was hungry, thirsty, bored and his foot throbbed. He had no idea how long he'd been in the cell for, but to him it seemed like an eternity already.

"Just climb already," Harry instructed to Sirius for the umpteenth time. So far, every time Sirius said no.

"No." Didn't seem like his answer was going to change, Harry thought. He glanced sideways at Sirius, who was leaning up against the wall beside Harry.

"So what are we going to do?" Harry asked. "Wait for Remus or somebody to come 'rescue' us?"

"Looks that way," Sirius replied.

"Who knows how long that could take," Harry said, sighing. "I don't even know where we are. Who says that Remus is going to know? Or Dumbledore?"

"We'll just have to wait and see," Sirius said resignedly. Harry sighed again, only one thought was reeling through his mind at that moment: what was Lucius Malfoy planning to do with Sirius and Harry?

-

A/N: Thank you for your wonderful reviews so far, and I hope I'll be hearing more of them! Well, hopefully you enjoyed this chapter, and again, thanks for the reviews!


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter Eight

Harry groaned and shifted his position. So far, both his back and butt hurt from leaning against the brick wall and sitting on the hard, cold cement floor. He bent his head back a bit, back enough for him to see whether it was day or night out from the window since he hadn't a clue in the world.

"You okay there, kiddo?" Came Sirius's soft, sleepy voice from the shadows.

"Mmm," Harry mumbled. "Fine. Just peachy." He hadn't meant to sound so sarcastic, but he was being held prisoner in a place god knows where. It's not that easy to _not _sound sarcastic.

No sound was made from Sirius, except a light snore. A sign that he was asleep again. Harry shifted his position again, hoping that he'd soon fall asleep.

-

Remus tried to keep his eyes open, which was difficult. He had spent the whole day trying to figure out which Death Eater had kidnapped Harry, and so far he came up with nothing. The only person that was on his mind was Bellatrix Lestrange for the possible kidnapping. It could even be Lucius Malfoy—maybe even Peter Pettigrew.

But, now, the more he thought about it the more he started to suspect Lucius Malfoy more than Bellatrix Lestrange. It just seemed to…fit. Giving a sigh of resignation, he finally let sleep overcome him.

-

"Harry," Sirius murmured, giving Harry a shake. He didn't wake up. "Harry." Sirius shook Harry a bit harder. Harry gave a groan of protest, shooing Sirius away. "Wake up, Harry!" Harry blearily opened his eyes, yawning.

"_What _is it?" Harry straightened himself up, adjusting his glasses back on his nose since they were skewed. Sirius held up a stone.

"We can try to smash the wall with this." Harry snorted.

"That's a rock, Sirius."

Sirius glanced at the stone in his hand. "So?"

"So?" Harry repeated. "I doubt you could smash the wall with a rock."

"Not smash," Sirius said. "Just hit the wall with this stone."

"You really are desperate," Harry muttered, yawning again. Sirius threw the rock aside. "Why don't you try seeing if one of the bricks in the wall are loose? If one is, maybe we could start from there." _Who knows how long we're going to be in this cell for, _Harry added to himself. He watched Sirius busily check every brick, and Harry suspected for Sirius to check all of them would take a few hours. There were _a lot _of bricks that made up the wall.

"Wait," Sirius said suddenly to Harry. Harry now looked at the brick that Sirius was fiddling with, and it did look a bit loose. Harry shakily stood on his feet, hoping that his right foot wouldn't give away with the pressure he was putting on it. He still wasn't absolutely sure how he had broken it. When he finally reached his godfather, he clumsily fell down beside him.

He watched his godfather pry at the brick, cursing every time his fingers slipped. Finally, with great effort, Sirius was able to slide the brick out. He grinned triumphantly.

"Way to go," Harry said, looking impressed. "Now we just have, what? A million more to go?" Sirius's grin slowly faded, and he groaned.

"I forgot about the other million."

"I don't think one brick is going to be big enough for us to crawl through," Harry reminded the other man.

"Do you think it'll be easier to get the other bricks out since this one is out?" Sirius asked, studying the wall.

"Maybe," Harry replied. He wasn't a hundred percent sure. Footsteps echoed off the walls, and Harry knew that it was probably Lucius Malfoy. "Hurry," Harry said hurriedly. "Put the brick back in." Sirius obliged, stuffing the brick back into the wall in a matter of seconds.

"Having fun?" Lucius sneered.

"Tons," Harry replied coldly. He moved his leg (the broken one,) wincing as a sheer jolt of pain shot through his right leg.

"Oooh," Lucius said, not taking his eyes off of Harry's broken leg. "You should really get that looked at." Harry scowled, the pain that shot through his leg brought tears to the corner of his eyes. "But then again," Lucius continued coolly. "In a few days, the pain won't be that much of a bother anymore." Harry frowned.

"Bother?" Lucius smirked.

"That's right. Say," he continued on, "would you mind saying 'hi' to Lily and James for me?" With another cold smirk, he left Sirius and Harry fuming.

"He has no right to call them Lily or James," Sirius said through clenched teeth.

"I wonder why he's going to kill us in a 'few' days," Harry said, he too, feeling anger towards Lucius Malfoy. But he had to wonder what Lucius Malfoy meant by a 'few' days.

"You're worried about what day he's going to be killing us on?" Sirius said, he turned around, pulling the brick back out. "I'm a bit preoccupied on getting our arses out of here. Mainly yours."

"Don't worry about me," Harry said, trying not to wince at the pain that still throbbed in his leg. "_I'm _more worried on getting _your _arse out of here."

"All right," Sirius said. "We're _both_ worried about each other and getting outta here, we have that settled." Harry grinned faintly, turning around to work on a brick that was behind him.

-

A/N: Sorry for…not that much of a good ending (of this chapter, not the story.) I'm a bit tired, so, there's my excuse. Anyway, thanks for the reviews. I really, really appreciate them.


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter Nine

_We're making progress, _Harry thought happily as he observed what he and Sirius had accomplished so far. They had removed _god knows _how many bricks from the wall, but so far they were able to stick their head through. With high hopes, Harry thought they might be able to remove enough bricks to crawl through by three days. Maybe even less—hopefully. But, he was a bit curious at what would be on the other side. Whether it was another room, a tunnel maybe, or even the outside. Freedom.

In the corner over in the shadows is where they set the bricks that they were able to pull out. They had settled in that certain area just in case Malfoy (senior) came by to 'check in' on them, and the bricks would be invisible in the darkness.

"Can you help with this one?" Sirius asked in a frustrated voice. "It's stuck." Harry was able to move his swollen foot so he'd be able to turn around and help his godfather, though a sheer jolt of pain came along with it. Harry grasped onto the side of the brick, tugging until it came loose enough to pull out.

"Maybe you should let me do some," Harry said uncertainly. He eyed the tips of Sirius's fingers, which were starting to bleed. Sirius frowned.

"Why?"

Harry raised his eyebrows, a smile tugging at the side of his lips. "You're bleeding," he pointed out.

"So?"

"So just take a break," Harry said, getting frustrated at his godfathers stubbornness.

"Don't think so," Sirius contradicted. "How can you be able to move with that swollen foot of yours?"

"I'm not moving my foot to take the bricks out," Harry said. "I'm using my hands. What's this got to do with my foot, anyway?" Sirius sighed, ignoring Harry and turning back to the bricks. "Just take a break," Harry said exasperatedly.

"I'm almost done, Harry."

"No, you're not," Harry debated, looking at the space in the wall that would only be big enough to fit his head in.

"I will be," Sirius corrected himself. "…Soon." Harry gave a sigh of defeat.

"You should take a break though, Siri. I wouldn't mind taking over for awhile, just to give your hands a rest, anyway. You look tired."

"Who's the adult here, anyway?" Sirius said with a grin. Harry grinned back, his face loosing its color. He moaned, holding his hands up against his stomach.

"I don't feel good," he complained. Sirius stopped prying the bricks with his hands to cast Harry a concerned look.

"You okay, kiddo?" Harry shook his head, feeling nausea sweep over him. "You're probably hungry," Sirius said, scowling. "No wonder. Malfoy hasn't fed you in—what?—a day?"

"Don't you mean us?" Harry managed to get out without vomiting.

"I mean _you,_" Sirius said, a concerned look still plastered on his face. Harry closed his eyes and leaned back against the wall, inhaling and exhaling a few breaths. He felt too sick to argue with Sirius, and suddenly felt relieved as the nausea left slowly, but he was still left with a sick feeling in the pit of his stomach.

"Ahh," Sirius muttered under his breath as he pulled another brick out of the wall. He tossed it over in the shadows, wincing as the brick made a horrible clanging noise on the cement floor. Sirius held his breath, hoping that Malfoy didn't hear the loud noise. He let his breath out and looked relieved as no sound of Lucius Malfoy was made.

"You were lucky that time," Harry said with a faint grin, still looking a bit green in the face. Sirius made a snort of agreement, turning back to the wall and busily working on another brick.

-

Once Remus had awoken to find a blazing sunshine beaming in through the window, the first thing on his mind was Harry and finding him. Wherever the boy was, he couldn't sit around doing nothing. He had to take action. All the accusations towards Lucius Malfoy had seemed to vanish overnight, though he was a mite suspicious. Just not as suspicious as last night.

Somehow, Remus could tell that Harry wasn't his best. It was almost a…feeling of a sort. It was as if he could tell what the boy was feeling, but that just might be his empathic side showing.

He let out a moan, knowing that that was the last time he'd fall asleep on the couch in an uncomfortable position again. He rubbed the nape of his neck; only one thing on his mind. Today was going to be the day that he'd find Harry—he knew it.

-

"Take a break!" Harry exclaimed, cursing Sirius for being so stubborn. Sirius ignored his godson, hearing enough of Harry's complaining commands. Harry's shoulders slouched, defeated. "Please?"

"Just rest," Sirius said finally. "I'm almost done. Look how much I've finished so far! We'll be out of here in no time, kiddo."

"I know," Harry replied, becoming chafed. "And I don't want to 'rest' anymore. I _have _been resting—and now it's your turn!"

"Calm down," Sirius said calmly, clenching his teeth together in pain as he tiredly pulled another brick out. He wiped the blood on the tips of his fingers onto his clothes. "Look how much bricks I've gotten out so far. I'll be done soon, Harry." Harry ignored Sirius, trying to calm the nausea that once again swept over him. He closed his eyes and took a few breaths.

"Fine," Harry managed to get out. When the feeling passed, Harry leaned over to look at what was behind the brick of walls. "That looks like a…" He trailed off, glancing at Sirius. "It looks like a room."

"Yeah," Sirius agreed. "I-I think it's big enough for you to crawl through. Go ahead; try."

"Why don't you try crawling through first?" Harry asked.

"Because," Sirius argued. "I want you to go to safety first." Harry rolled his eyes.

"How do you know that that room is safe?" Sirius shrugged.

"A guess. Now let me help you through." Carefully helping Harry through the tunnel that led to the room next to cell, Sirius went through after.

"It's—" Harry paused, leaning on Sirius for support. "Big."

-

A/N: This was a bit difficult and short for me to write because I have the unbearable bug called Flu. I don't know when I'll be writing and posting the next chapter, though I have a feeling it'll be after I don't have the flu anymore. Thank you for your reviews; I hope I'll be hearing (seeing, actually) more of them!


	10. Chapter 10

Chapter Ten

"It's—" Harry paused, leaning on Sirius for support. "Big."

"Yeah," Sirius agreed. He observed the room: a fireplace, a cozy, woolen rug, a couch on top of sleek hardwood floor. "Cozy."

"What is this place, though?" Harry asked. "_Where _are we?"

"And you're asking me?" Sirius snorted. "I'm not the best person to ask, Harry."

"Let's just get out of here," Harry said, trying to put as little pressure on his swollen foot as possible. "And go back home." Sirius couldn't agree more. God, it had been so long since he was back home with his godson just _relaxing. _The idea sounded so welcoming.

"We have to be careful of Malfoy," Sirius said in a whisper to Harry as the exited the room. "We have to be quiet and careful."

"I know that," Harry hissed. "So be quiet. You're not exactly whispering, Siri." Sirius scowled.

"I am."

"No, you're not."

"Yes, I am."

"You're not."

"I am."

"You're not."

"I am."

Harry let out an irritated grunt. "Let's just get _out _of here in peace, Sirius! I don't want to argue all the way."

"Right," Sirius agreed, clearing his voice. "But just to set things straight: I was whispering." Harry rolled his eyes, staying quiet to avoid another argument.

"Which door do we take?" Harry asked as they encountered two doors: one on the right, and one on the left.

"Er—I'm not sure," Sirius admitted. "Let's try the…left," he decided. Sirius opened the door, helping Harry through. He let Harry put a supportive arm around him.

"Ugh," Harry let out a noise of disgust. "I think I have a cobweb all over my face now."

"No wonder," Sirius said. "It's pitch black in here and OW!" Sirius cursed under his breath, stopping to baby his big toe. "Ow," he muttered again into the darkness.

"Stub your toe?"

"Obviously," Sirius said sarcastically. He let out an irritated breath before continuing through the dark hallway, Harry limping beside him with an arm around Sirius's shoulder. Sirius held his free hand in front of him, just a precaution in case he might run into a wall.

"I wish we had our wands," Harry said in a low voice to Sirius.

"So do I."

"Wait a second," Harry said, stopping to lean up against the wall. "Just need a break." His sentence was cut off by a yelp as he fell backwards into the wall.

"Harry?" Sirius called. "Harry, where are you? Can you hear me?"

"Yeah," Harry called back uncertainly. A light would have been really useful then, since his surroundings were covered with blackness. "I fell into the wall."

"You fell into the wall," Sirius repeated blankly. "Then how come I can't see you?"

"I don't know," Harry replied. "Lean against the wall." Harry waited in silence until he felt Sirius land beside him.

"Ouch," Sirius said, rubbing his back. He looked around, squinting. It was hard to make tell of anything. He knew it was a room, but there was no light, so it was difficult to tell what _kind _of room. "I bet the people who used to own this house used this room to torture people in." Harry shuddered.

"And you know this how?"

"I don't," Sirius replied, getting up from the floor. "I said 'I bet.' Which means 'I'm guessing,' and that also mightmean, 'I'm joking.'"

"Maybe if we lean against the wall again it'll take us back," Harry mused. "Try it, Siri." Hesitantly leaning against the wall, Sirius suddenly felt the wall move until he was standing back in the hallway; Harry soon joining him.

"Come on," Sirius said, hauling Harry up on his feet and putting an arm around Harry's shoulder. "Let's keep going straight." Harry agreed, closing his eyes momentarily to get rid of the headache that had developed. It didn't work.

"I see something," Harry said suddenly, squinting into the darkness. A speck of light caught his eye.

"Me too," Sirius said. "Come on, let's go a bit faster. I bet that that's the outside." As they got closer to the low beam of sunlight, the light temporarily blinded Harry. He wasn't used to it, since he had been locked up in a cell with no sunshine or light for god knows how many days.

"Just a bit further," Sirius urged. He was surprised to see that there was no door attached to the wall, just an opening.

"I'm blind," Harry said with a grin as they came onto the grassy land. Sirius let out a laugh, but quickly faded as his eyes adjusted to the light and he was able to see where they were.

"What the—" Sirius stopped in mid-sentence.

"A maze," Harry said blandly. "We're standing at the entrance of a maze."

"Seems like it," Sirius replied. "So we, what? Go through the maze until we come to the exit?"

"I guess so," Harry responded. He took his arm off Sirius's neck and tried to shake Sirius off of his neck.

"What are you doing, Harry?"

"We can't find the exit of this maze with me around your neck. I'm going to try to walk on my own."

"You're crazy," Sirius said. "You have a broken foot. You can't walk on your own." Harry frowned.

"I can try."

"You'll hurt yourself," Sirius pointed out. Harry ignored his godfather and took two wobbly steps away from him before falling.

"I did pretty good."

"Two steps, Harry."

"That's still good," Harry argued. He let out a gasp as a grassy wall shot up, blocking Harry from Sirius.

"Harry?" Sirius called out uncertainly.

"I'm…right here," Harry called back. "What happened?"

"I don't know," Sirius responded. "But if we can start walking through the maze, maybe we'll meet up with each other."

"I can't stand up," Harry replied, trying his best to stand on his feet. "You'll have to find the finish without me."

"I was right," said Sirius. "You are crazy. I'm _not _leaving you here."

"What's your other option, Sirius?" Sirius paused before answering.

"Finding you." Harry sighed, finding that he wouldn't win the argument. Extending his hand, Harry grasped onto a grassy branch that made the maze, trying to stand up, only to pull his hand back quickly as if he had gotten burned. He observed his hand, and then glanced at the wall of the maze. The branches felt like thorns digging into his palm.

"Don't grasp onto the branches," Harry called out to wherever Sirius was.

"Why not?"

"Trust me," Harry said. Taking in a deep breath, Harry held onto the branches once more, wincing as they pierced the skin of his palm. He was able to stand on his feet, but only one of them. Quickly letting go of the grassy, branch wall, he start to hop a few steps before falling back onto the ground.

"Harry?" Sirius voice called out.

"What?" Harry called back, wiping the blood onto his clothes.

"Nothing, I just wanted to see if I was any closer to you or not," Sirius replied. _Not by the sounds of it, _Harry thought. Sirius's voice sounded so far away and distant, Harry had to wonder whether or not Sirius was any closer to the finish or not. He wished the walls didn't feel like thorns, because then he could've leaned against the wall. He gave a sigh; this was going to be a _very _long day.

-

A/N: Well, I'm actually feeling a lot better. Better enough to write and post this, anyways. Thank you very much for the reviews.


	11. Chapter 11

Chapter Eleven

"How are you holding up, Harry?" Sirius called out. He fell down on the grass, panting. He didn't know how long he had been walking around the maze for, but he knew it was sometime in the evening.

"All right," Harry replied from somewhere in the maze. "A bit tired."

"You haven't been the one walking around a maze for practically all day," Sirius muttered under his breath. He leaned back, wanting to rest against something, but remembered what Harry had said. Don't touch the walls of the maze. Sirius wondered why or how Harry knew this, but didn't stop to question.

"How are _you_ doing, Sirius?" Harry asked.

"Fine…just fine…" Sirius replied, hauling himself up. He came to three passages: one on the left, one on the right, and one that was straight in front of him. _Which one would lead me to Harry? _Sirius wondered. It was hard to tell what direction Harry's voice was, since it seemed like Harry's voice was everywhere when he spoke. So, he decided on straight.

"Harry?" Sirius called out, seeing if he was any closer. Harry didn't reply. "Harry?"

"Mmm?" A sleepy voice mumbled out. Harry's voice wasn't that far away, Sirius realized happily.

-

Harry groaned at hearing Sirius's voice, which wasn't that far off anymore. "Mmm?" He called back sleepily. He let his eyes flutter open, knowing that he wouldn't be able to fall asleep on the ground. No matter how grassy it was, he just couldn't get comfortable.

Harry had tried to stand on his feet several times that day, and each time he stood he always fell back down. His hands were now cut badly, and blood seeped out of the cuts without a care. Why were the maze walls in the form of branches, but every time he touched the 'branches' they always felt like thorns?

"Harry!" Sirius's desperately relieved voice broke into his thoughts. Harry was surprised to see Sirius in front of him.

"Sirius," Harry said, returning the hug that Sirius had given Harry.

"You look horrible," Sirius said, frowning. Harry let out a laugh.

"Thanks, Sirius." Sirius didn't crack a smile.

"What happened to you, Harry?" Harry held out his hands, letting Sirius see the cuts all over his hands.

"See why I told you not to touch the branches?" Harry asked.

"You should listen to yourself next time, Harry," Sirius replied, helping Harry up.

"I tried to stand up," Harry said. "How was I suppose to know the branches were really thorns?" Sirius opened his mouth to reply, but Harry shushed him. "Do you hear that, Siri?" Sirius listened intently, hearing a faint noise in a distance.

"Yeah, I do," Sirius replied. "What is that?" Harry gave his head a faint shake before a look of realization crossed his face.

"Oh, no," he breathed. "It's Malfoy." Sirius froze.

"Damn," he muttered. "I forgot about him."

"I did, too," Harry admitted. "I was more focused on getting us out of there."

"We better hurry," Sirius said. "I really don't want to go back in that cell again." Harry laughed.

"Me neither."

"Right or left?" Sirius asked.

"Well, when we took left last time and seeing where _it _had taken us, I'll say right," Harry decided. He cursed under his breath as they reached a dead end. "Maybe we should've went left," Harry said. His hand immediately went up to his scar as it started to burn.

"Harry?" Sirius said tentatively. "What's wrong?"

"My scar," Harry managed to say through the pain.

"Your scar usually doesn't hurt unless Voldemort's around," Sirius said.

"I know," Harry said. "We should go, Siri. I hear him; he's pretty close," he continued, talking about Malfoy.

"How are we suppose to find the finish before Malfoy finds _us?_" Sirius asked, feeling annoyed as they came to three more passages.

"Let's take…left," Harry decided, flinching as his scar started to burn again. He wondered if they'd ever find the finish of the maze as they kept coming to dead ends and more passages.

"Right or left?" Sirius asked a few seconds later, sounding bored and tired.

"Right," Harry replied, yawning. "Wait," he suddenly said, stopping Sirius from walking. His godfather looked at him oddly.

"What is it? Do you feel sick?"

"No," Harry responded. With difficulty, Harry let go of Sirius's neck and fell down on the ground clumsily.

"_What _are you doing, Harry?" Sirius laughed, watching his godson try to lift the grass up. "Is the sun getting to you, kid?"

Harry scowled. "We've already passed this spot, Siri."

"So you're saying we're going around in circles," Sirius said. "Well, we'll just _not _go around in circles anymore. So, what are you doing to the poor grass, Harry?"

"Every time we pass this spot, the grass is always a bit loose here," Harry explained. "I wonder why."

"Harry—" Sirius cut himself off as Harry was able to lift a large patch of the grass up to reveal a trapdoor, unsurprisingly the same color and texture of the grass around it.

"If the door is already the same texture and color as grass, why were they trying to cover it up with, well, grass?" Sirius asked, referring to the previous owners of the house as 'they.'

"I dunno," Harry replied, lifting the door up. "But let's just be thankful we found it, all right?" With help from Sirius, he was able to go through the trapdoor; Sirius close behind.

"It's a tunnel," Harry said. "Wonder where it leads to."

"Hopefully to the outside," Sirius said. "One with no mazes or any booby-traps."

"Yeah," Harry agreed. They two came to a door, one which was a heavy, wooden door. Sirius turned the handle and opened it, hoping that when he did, he'd see the brilliant rays of sunshine. The outside; freedom. Harry froze when he saw who was on the other side of the door, and suddenly he felt all hope was lost.

"Harry Potter," the man wheezed. "And…Sirius Black."

-

A/N: Thank you very much for the reviews so far—I hope I'll be hearing (seeing) more of them!

I don't know when I'll post the next chapter, maybe in one or two days. I have a lot of projects due, and I'm just getting over the flu. Thanks again!


	12. Chapter 12

A/N: Thanks for the reviews so far! Some responses before I start:

Jessica01: Uh—what? And, er…sorry?

vegetarians will rule the Earth: Thank you! Well, hope you like the update.

Daughter Of Life And Death: That's, uh, a very good guess...

LittleCrazy1: You'll find out soon (in-this-chapter soon.)

vegetarians will rule the Earth: Uhm, if you read my other stories that connect to this one (In this order: Innocence, Baby Blues, Death Becomes them) you'd know.

Addictednotobsessed: Thank you.

Purtyinpink7112: :-) Thank you very much, really. Hope you like the chapter.

Prongs J. Potter: All right, all right:-) Here's the chapter, hope you like.

The Best witch of all: Here's the update, thanks!

fork-tofu-pingpong-fish: Thank you very much for your review. Here is the update, and thanks again.

fork-tofu-pingpong-fish: Hah, sorry:-) Thanks for the review!

Dancegirlem24: Thank you very, very much for your reviews. Here's the chapter!

WolfbainKohaku: Lol, thank you and here's the chapter.

Mandie Weasley: :-) Thank you very much, here's the update...

-

I have decided to respond to your reviews since I had received so many. Everyone, I really appreciate your reviews, I really do. I hope you like this chapter….

* * *

Chapter Twelve 

"Harry Potter," the man wheezed. "And…Sirius Black." Harry stood frozen on the spot. In the corner of his eye, he saw the doors that they had encountered before. He felt Sirius's grip tighten on him protectively. "At last." Harry could only flinch under Lucius Malfoy's—who was standing beside the man—tight glare. A cold smirk placed on his lips.

Lucius turned to the man, bowing his head slightly. "My lord, what shall I do with them?"

"You shall do nothing," the man said. Harry didn't understand who the man was, other than the hint of, 'My lord.' The man that stood in front of him was the exact description of 'death.' The eyes were so black and hollow, his skin looked pale and wrinkly. Almost as if you would skim the ashen skin of the man, it would crumble to dust. His shirt was covered with thick mounds of dried blood, and Harry was thankful that he wasn't up close enough to smell the old mans breath.

"Yes, my lord," Lucius said curtly, giving his head another bow. Harry desperately tried to find something—anything—to say, but nothing came to mind. Harry couldn't fight the searing pain in his scar, or the pain in his right foot.

"However," the man continued in a thoughtful voice. "Since of my…_condition,_" he let his wheezy sentence trail off. The smirk reappeared on Malfoy's face.

"Yes, my lord," Malfoy said, bowing his head. In one, swift motion, he turned left and was walking down the narrow hallway.

Voldemort said nothing, but kept his eyes glued on Harry and Sirius. A glint of malevolence was visible in the dark, cold, dead eyes. Harry knew that that was what Lucius Malfoy had meant when he had said a few days. He had killed a muggle to 'store' Voldemort's soul in. Giving him life, but costing the life of a muggle. Though, Harry knew that Lucius Malfoy wouldn't care if he had killed a muggle or not.

_That's it, _Harry thought, inconspicuously feeling around his pocket for the pocketknife. He carried it around everywhere, and he just hoped that the knife was in those pants. He finally felt cold metal, and he grasped onto it, slowly pulling the pocketknife out of his pocket. Even though the soul was of Voldemort, the body was of a muggle.

"Come on," Harry said to Sirius and the knife connected with the muggle mans chest. The man's eyes were wide and unsuspecting, but limped to the floor.

"A knife," Sirius said incredulously, as they took the right door that time. It was another pitch-black, narrow hallway, but in a distance he could make out another tiny speck of light, which was hopefully the exit of the house. Harry hoped that Malfoy wouldn't find the body of the muggle lying on the floor before he and Sirius had escaped. "A knife," he repeated.

"I took that knife everywhere with me," Harry said, somewhat sadly. No way would he go back there and retrieve the pocketknife from the body. "You gave it to me on my twelfth birthday."

"I'll get you a new one," Sirius promised, adjusting the position of his arm which was around Harry's neck supportably.

"I'm sorry for keeping you down," Harry apologized suddenly.

"Keeping me down?" Sirius repeated, confused.

"Yeah. We could've went a lot faster if you didn't have to help me walk," Harry pointed out.

"But it's not your fault that you hurt your foot," Sirius said. "You didn't do it on purpose."

When the light came closer and closer, until they came to not a door, but another opening, Harry braced himself to encounter something different other than a maze. Or _maybe _another maze, one of needles perhaps. But instead, the first thing that came to his eye was the sight of a clear blue sky with grassy hills. Finally, freedom.

-

A/N: Sorry for the wait, I was a bit stumped on what to write in just the middle of it. As you can tell, I am no J.K. Rowling, so this chapter sucked…a bit. Or maybe it sucked a lot to you, I don't know. Anyway, thank you _so _much for the reviews this story has gotten so far. As you can tell, it's starting to wind down. Anyway, thanks again, and I'll be posting the next chapter after I start it.


	13. Chapter 13

A/N: Some responses before I start:

purtyinpink71121: Well, I guess I shouldn't have wrote 'long,' since it wasn't, like…_loonngg…_but not short, either. Sorry if I'm getting you confused. And, throughout the mansion it has openings instead of doors. Except in the dungeons, they have bars. Hope that that answers your questions.

Dancegirlem24: Thank you, here's the chap.

vegetarians will rule the Earth: You're welcome, and thanks.

WolfbainKohaku: lol, I'm glad you're happy! 'Cause then I'm happy :-)

Jessica01: Wow, does she really? Lucky!

Chaos023: Thank you, and I hope you like the chapter!

* * *

Chapter Thirteen 

"I wish there was someplace we could stop and rest at," Harry said, starting to feel woozy.

"Me too," Sirius agreed, stopping to lean against a rail by the road.

"I can't believe we're in the middle of nowhere," Harry complained, sucking in a breath of the crisp, blue air.

"It's not _nowhere,_" Sirius said. "We have to be somewhere. It's just that'someplace' is…deserted."

"I'd laugh if we were in somewhere in America," Harry said numbly.

"I wouldn't," Sirius replied, frowning.

"I was joking," Harry informed Sirius. "At least, I hope we're not somewhere in America."

"Come on," Sirius said, standing up straight. "We should keep going, just in case there's someplace down the road—"

"You said that twenty minutes ago," Harry said, sighing.

"You never know," Sirius said. "Come on, kiddo." Harry sighed again, letting Sirius help him up to his feet (at least, one of them.)

"Malfoy picked a good place to hold us," Harry said, wiping the sweat that the blazing sun had caused off of his forehead. "It's deserted, I'll give him that. No one would ever think to look for us here."

"Which is exactly why we need to keep looking for a place…anyplace," Sirius said. "For a while, anyway. Because like you said: nobody would look for us here." They walked in silence, the only sound to be heard was their heavy breathing.

"I'm hallucinating," Harry moaned out of the blue.

"Well, you aren't the only one hallucinating, then," Sirius said, not taking his eyes off of the place that Harry was looking at. "Because I see it, too." As if saying something might make the house fade away, Harry stayed quiet until they reached the home.

"Isn't this our luck?" Sirius said, frowning. "Nobody's in there."

"No wonder," Harry responded. "Whoever lived here must've left months ago. Years, even."

"Just our luck," Sirius muttered.

"Ain'tcher lucky day?" An unkempt man appeared behind the screen of the door. He raised his eyebrows at Harry's swollen foot. "Why don't yah come inside, here? Looks like yah haven't had a goodnights sleep in a while." He held the door open, inviting Sirius and Harry in. "So, what brings you folks down 'ere?"

"This and that," Sirius said briefly.

"Beautiful day out for almost nighttime, eh?" The man asked. "Sun's still shinin' as if it ain't gotta care. Should be goin' down soon, though. Been out for an awful long time already, and it's still goin' strong."

"Yeah," Harry agreed, finding the cool air that was inside of the home feel nice against his hot skin. "Can't believe how hot it is, still."

"Aye," the man agreed. "Still wonderin' what you're doin' down 'ere, though. This part 'ere is pretty much deserted except for myself."

"Where exactly is 'here'?" Harry asked uncertainly.

"Well, we're in Wisconsin," the man replied. "You two looked shocked. Not from around 'ere?" He didn't stop to let Sirius or Harry say something, but continued on. "I ain't from around Wisconsin, either. Been living here for a while now, though. I'm thinkin' of movin' back to where my relatives live. Ain't much to do around this part, I'm still tryin' to figure out why I decided to live _here _in the first place."

"Wisconsin," Sirius said under his breath, looking flabbergasted.

"I coulda lived anywhere, really," the man continued on, ignoring Sirius completely. "I guess at tha' time I wanted some peace and quiet, and this part 'ere seemed like the perfect place. Now I'm gettin' a bit tired of the quietness, really."

"We're in Wisconsin," Sirius said, still looking flabbergasted.

"Where are you folks from, exactly?" The man asked.

"South Gloucestershire," Sirius said in the same awed voice. The man whistled.

"South Gloucestershire! That in South West England, ain't it? Traveled some way, you have."

"Can we stay here for the night?" Harry asked suddenly. "Just for the night." The man observed them before answering.

"Look pretty tired and worn out, you two do." He paused, eyeing Harry's foot. "Aye, I suppose you two can stay the night. I got extra rooms." He paused again before continuing. "How're you s'pose to go back to South West England? Yah ain't gotta car or nuttin'."

Sirius and Harry exchanged glances. "On foot?" Harry offered.

"You don't mean on _that _foot?" The man said, looking at Harry's foot again in surprise. "How're you two gunna poss'bly walk all the way back to South West England? You two are crazy, you are. Nah, I'll get yah hooked up somehow," the man said.

Sirius looked relieved, as did Harry. "Thanks."

"No problem," the man said. "If yah will follow me, I'll show yah where yah can stay, and I'll give yah some ice fer that foot," he said to Harry. "Yah should go to the doctor for that, yah should." He showed Sirius and Harry to the guest rooms. "I'll make some phone calls fer yah while yah rest up, and if yah need anythin' don't hes'tate to ask. 'Specially you," he said to Harry. "I'll be back with the ice."

"Wisconsin," Harry said when the man left, feeling that it was his turn to be astonished. Sirius sat down on the bed by Harry. "We're in _Wisconsin._"

"Don't worry," Sirius said, kissing the top of Harry's unruly hair. "We'll be back in no time. Just rest."

"I got the ice," the man said, coming back into the room with a bag of ice. "Just put that on yer foot, it'll help the swelling. I ain't no doctor, so that's the best I can do." He passed the bag to Harry. "My name's Charlie by the way," he told them, giving them a grin goodnight before exiting the room again.

"G'night," Harry muttered, feeling for the first time relaxed and comfortable.

-

A/N: Thank you all for the reviews, and I'll be posting the next chapter soon.


	14. Chapter 14

Chapter Fourteen

"Rise an' shine, jovem," Charlie boomed the next morning, startling Harry from his sleep. "Jovem is Portuguese for young one, didja know?" His eyes not wanting to open yet, Harry could only shake his head sleepily.

"Wha' time is it, Char'ee?" Harry yawned, blinking his eyes open a few times.

"Five thirty in the morning!" Charlie replied proudly. "Earliest I ever got up at."

"Five thirty?" Harry replied, looking horrified. "I haven't slept in days. I'm going back to sleep." Laying his head back down on the pillow, Harry drifted off into another sleep. Charlie looked at Harry dejectedly, but shook it off. The other one, Sirius, was still asleep, too.

"I'm comin', I'm comin'," Charlie muttered as there was an impatient knock on the door. "Crazy peoples comin' 'ere at five thirty in the morning. I thought this 'ere was deserted, but now all these people are showin' up at my doorstep!" He shook his head in frustration as he reached for the door. "I ain't takin' in no more people." He raised his eyebrows at a man who was standing impatiently on his doorstep. He had long, white hair and cold, grey eyes. But what caught Charlie's attention was the stick the guy was holding, with a metal snake head attached to the top.

"What can I do fer yah?" Charlie asked, feeling in no mood to start up a conversation. He guessed the guy didn't, either, by the tone of his voice.

"I'm looking for someone…in particular." Charlie hesitated, but tried not to let it show. Could it be those two who had showed up on his doorstep the day before?

"Who yah lookin' fer?" Charlie asked.

"Two people, actually," the man corrected himself. "Has anybody come by between today and yesterday?" Charlie wanted to scowl at this guys impatient, demanding voice, and tried to ignore it.

"Nope, nobody has shown up 'ere. Been out the whole day, just got back a little 'round one in the morning," Charlie lied. With a skeptical look and not another word, in one swift motion the man had left Charlie's abode. "Weird one, that is," Charlie muttered. He walked over to his closet, sorting through everything until he found what he was looking for.

"This might do for that youngin'," Charlie said to himself, setting down some crutches by Harry's bed. "Just till he gets a doctor to look at that foot of his." Quietly walking out of the guest room, Charlie made his way back to the kitchen for cup of coffee.

"Who was at the door?" Harry muttered sleepily, walking into the kitchen with the support of the crutches.

"I thought yah where sleepin'," Charlie said, sipping on the coffee.

"I couldn't go back to sleep," Harry said, sitting down opposite Charlie and setting the crutches by his chair. "And thanks for the crutches, Charlie. I think I'll be needing them for a while."

"No problem," Charlie replied. "And I think we need to talk, we do. You n' that father of yours."

"Sirius isn't my father," Harry said, resting his head in his hands, yawning. "He's my godfather. And what do we need to talk about?"

"What's goin' on with yah two," Charlie said seriously. "Someone was at the door lookin' for yah both. Are yah two in trouble with the law?"

"No," Harry replied truthfully. "It's…complicated. I wish I could tell you, but—"

"No worries," Charlie interrupted. "As long as it has nuttin' to do with breakin' the law, I don't care, so yah don't need to tell me if yah don't wanna. DAMN!" He swore as he knocked his coffee cup, contents and all, all over his front. "Damn, damn, damn! Hot, hot, hot!" Harry couldn't help but laugh, and receive a scowl from Charlie.

"Whaddya think is so funny?" He asked, shaking his head. "Nev' mind. I'm goin' tah go change." Harry smiled as Charlie left, and couldn't help but wonder who was at the door that made Charlie think he and Sirius were in trouble with the 'law.' _Could be Lucius Malfoy, _Harry thought. It was a possibility, since Charlie had said the night before that it was deserted, and the only place near enough to Charlie would be where Lucius Malfoy had kept Harry and Sirius. Though, when they walked on foot, it seemed a lot farther.

"Wha's a matter?" Sirius mumbled blearily, trudging into the room and looking around wildly. "Stop, drop and roll!" Harry laughed out loud.

"There's no fire, Sirius."

"What's with all the yelling, then?" Sirius asked, rubbing his eyes. "Could've woke the whole neighborhood up, but then, there are no neighbors to wake up."

"Sorry, there," Charlie said, coming back into the kitchen with a fresh shirt on. "Spilt coffee all over me. You don't realize how hot the damn coffee is until yer wearin' it," he added with a shake of his head. "Can I get yah two anything?"

"Yes," Harry and Sirius said in unison. "Anything."

"Yah sound like yah haven't eaten in days," Charlie observed with a chuckle. "Eggs and bacon sound good?" Harry and Sirius nodded.

"If it's deserted, how're you able to get food?" Harry asked out of curiosity.

"Ah, I have a car, yah know," Charlie responded. "Parked out back. S'not that long of a drive, really. Speakin' of drives, I called 'round last night," he informed them. "I'ma drive yah to the airport," he paused, pouring juice into a glass. "An' yah have tah take a few plane rides, you have to. Not just one plane ride can take you to South West England, yah know. Anyway, when yah come to the last stop you'll find one ah my friends waitin' fer yah. They'll take you to where yah wanna go."

Sirius glanced at Harry before speaking up. "We don't have any—"

"No worries," Charlie interrupted, knowing what Sirius was going to confess to. "I ain't goin' tah charge yah. No worries, no worries." Sirius relaxed, taking the offered juice and drinking it. He hadn't drank or eaten anything in days, and he forgot how good food and beverages tasted.

"Food'll be ready soon," Charlie announced. "Then we can start headin' out." Harry's eyes widened.

"At _five thirty_in the morning?" He exclaimed, horrified.

"It'll take us a few good hours to get down tah the airport, yah know," Charlie reminded them. "It ain't down the road, mind you." He shoveled bacon and eggs onto Sirius and Harry's plate. "How 'bout some beer? Have some in here somewhere!" Harry and Sirius exchanged glances.

"Huh?"

-

"All right," Charlie said, handing the two their tickets. "Yah know what plane yer on, don'tcha?" They both nodded. "Right, then. Here're yer tickets. And when yah get back tah South West England, you keep in touch," he told them with a grin.

"Thanks," Harry said with a grin. "And about the—"

"You keep 'em," Charlie said softly. "Yer gonna need those crutches, aye?" Harry grinned again, giving Charlie another thanks before heading onto the plane.

-

A/N: I had just finished this, and decided to post it for you all. Since I was done. Anyway, not much to say except 'thanks' for all of the reviews.

Oh, and if you think the rating should change any time, just let me know. I'm not very good with rating stuff...


	15. Chapter 15

A/N: Before I start, Jessica01, you wrote:  
"I wasn't sure what the rating should be on 'Wishes'." I don't get your review, actually. I don't have a story entitled, "Wishes." But, anyway…

Responses:

jmljasmine: I do have a habit of updating rather quickly. Though, that's a good habit! Mmm…I think you're getting the wrong feeling. There's nothing up with Charlie…

vegetarians will rule the Earth: Thank you very much.

Er…I'm exhausted, actually, so I think that'll be all the reviews that I respond to. Sorry.

* * *

Chapter Fifteen 

"Harry Potter and Sirius Black?" A woman asked cheerfully as Harry and Sirius came to their stop.

"Yeah," Harry said warily.

"My name's Nevaeh Maeve," Nevaeh introduced. "I'm sure Charlie told you that I was meeting you here?"

"He said somebody was meeting us at our very last stop," Harry said.

"Oh," Nevaeh said. "He said for me to meet you here." She shrugged.

"Where are we?" Sirius decided to ask. Nevaeh brightened again.

"You're in Massachusetts," she replied. "You're next flight is at two o'clock, so you can stay at my place until then. Wash up, maybe," Nevaeh suggested, glancing at the blood stains on Harry's shirt and hands.

"Where is our next flight taking us?" Sirius asked, following Nevaeh to her car.

"Paris," the girl responded, starting up the engine with a grin. "You'll be meeting my sister, Ivayla Niamh, there. And then, if you're wondering, from Paris you'll go to England," Nevaeh added. "From England, someone by the name of Riley Augustine will take you to South West England. From there, you'll meet Isabella, who'll take you to South Gloucestershire where you want to be," she finished.

"Isabella," Harry repeated immediately. "O'Brien?" Nevaeh looked surprised.

"Actually, no," she replied. "That was her late husband's last name. He died when her son, Matthew, was only five." Nevaeh's face saddened. "Matt died at the age of thirteen. Really sad, you know. Hit and run, that's what killed him. Well, Isabella re-married to Julian Jessup. They had a little girl—did you know?" Nevaeh's smile reappeared. "Yeah. Her name's Nevaeda. Pretty, isn't it? Kind of reminds me of my name."

"Yeah," Harry agreed.

"Anyway," Nevaeh continued, "Julian had a little girl with his other wife. They got a divorce when their little girl was only one."

"I didn't know that Julian Jessup had a daughter," Sirius said. Nevaeh nodded.

"Oh, yeah. Her name's Willow. That's pretty, too, isn't it?" Nevaeh paused, pulling into her driveway. "Here we are. D'you need help, love?" She asked Harry, looking at his crutches.

"I've got it," Harry said, leaning on his crutches as he got out of the car.

"Jenny?" Nevaeh called as she entered her home. A younger girl, maybe about twenty, stepped out from the living room.

"Yeah, Nev?"

"You wanna help these two here upstairs? Then we'll let them get washed up," Nevaeh said.

"And then you'll make me some lunch?" Jenny asked.

"I'll make all of us lunch," Nevaeh said. "But really, Jenny, you should learn how to make your own lunch, dinner and breakfast sometime. I'm not your mother, and I have a right to kick your ass out of here." Jenny scowled, turning to Sirius and Harry.

"This way," she said, turning to go up the stairs. She waited patiently until Harry and Sirius joined her at the top of the stairs. "All right," Jenny said, turning around. "This here is the bathroom. I think this'll be all you need to know, really, since you're not staying the night. Wash up, and I'll call you down when Nevaeh's done making lunch."

"Sisters?" Harry guessed when Jenny went back down the stairs. Sirius nodded.

"Definitely sisters."

-

"You two look better than you did," Nevaeh observed. "Well, eat up. We'll be leaving in half an hour."

"So, how do you know Charlie?" Harry asked, setting his crutches by his chair. Nevaeh grinned.

"Distant cousins. Actually, did you know that Charlie is Isabella's brother?" Harry could only stare at the older woman. "Yep, they are. He's a bit…unkempt, isn't he? Always was, actually."

"Not always," Jenny said. "He wasn't in High School."

"Well, that was then," Nevaeh said dismissively. "And 'then' was a long time ago."

"Nuh-uh," Jenny disagreed with a frown. "You're just saying that because you're…old. I'm not _nearly _as old as you."

"I'm twenty five," Nevaeh said with a frown of her own. "You're twenty four." With an irritated sigh, Jenny got up from the table and stomped up the stairs. "Don't mind her. She was always like that," Nevaeh said with a chuckle. She glanced at her watch. "If you two are done, we should head out now." She looked up at the ceiling. "Jenny, we're going to go now!"

"So what?" Jenny called back down angrily. Nevaeh looked at Sirius and Harry helplessly, giving a shrug.

-

"Here's your plane tickets," Nevaeh said, thrusting two tickets towards Sirius and Harry. "I've already told you what plane your going on, didn't I?" She shook her head. "All right, have a good flight. Say hi to Ivayla for me, won't you? And don't worry, she's not as bad as Jenny." Harry grinned.

"We will, and thank you."

"No problem," Nevaeh said. She listened as they called out Harry and Sirius's plane. "Go on, you don't want to miss your flight."

"I really didn't know that Isabella had a brother," Harry said as they settled into their seats.

"Neither did I. She never spoke about him, either," Sirius said.

"Well, next stop: Paris," Harry said blandly.

-

Remus sunk into the couch in defeat._ So much for the 'today's-the-day-I'll-find-Harry.' _He ignored the doorbell, which was repeatedly ringing. "Nobody's home," he muttered, closing his eyes.

"I'm not stupid," a girls voice, which reminded Remus of Isabella Jessup, said angrily. "I _know _you're in there." Remus groaned, getting up from the couch and opening the door. Isabella Jessup, who had visited Remus once before, stood in the doorway with an angry expression her face.

"Hello."

Isabella clenched her teeth together, her eyes blazing. "You lied to me."

Remus raised his eyebrows. "When?"

"When I came by that day. You said Harry and Sirius went out, but you lied to me."

Remus looked at the woman suspiciously. "I didn't lie to you."

"Oh?" Isabella planted her hands on her hips. "So Sirius and Harry went all the way to Wisconsin for, what, nothing? Or did they go there for a shopping spree?"

"Wisconsin?" Remus repeated. "How do you know that Harry went to Wisconsin? And Sirius couldn't possibly be with Harry, he died—" Isabella looked astonished and angry at the same time.

"_Who _are you? Sirius Black is not dead."

"He—" Remus started, knowing that he shouldn't have let that slip.

"Tell me who you are," Isabella said, narrowing her eyes. "Or I scream."

"You're taking this a bit too…" Remus trailed off.

"I'm taking this cautiously," she said. "Because I'm concerned for Harry and Sirius. Why did I get a call from Charlie saying that Sirius and Harry were in Wisconsin?" Remus sighed, opening the door up invitingly.

"I think you should sit down." Glancing at Remus cautiously, Isabella took a seat. "How long have you known Harry? And Sirius?"

"Since Harry was eight," Isabella said. "He and my son, Matthew, were best friends. I think I've seen you around sometimes, though."

"You have," Remus said uncertainly. "I live here with Harry and…Sirius."

"What is with all this 'was' business?" Isabella exclaimed. "Sirius is not deceased! So don't you mean 'are'?"

"Harry was kidnapped," Remus said. Isabella paled.

"Kidnapped? Did you call somebody?" She paused. "But how can that be? I just got off the phone with my brother, Charlie. He said a Harry Potter and Sirius Black showed up on his doorstep in Wisconsin. He drove them to the airport, they were going to Massachusetts." Remus couldn't believe what he was hearing.

"Massachusetts?"

"That's right," Isabella said. "Then they're taking another flight to Paris, then England. Riley Augustine will be taking them to South West England, where I'll be picking them up and bringing them back here. That's what I got out of Charlie." Remus couldn't be more thankful.

"That's great."

"Yeah, it is," Isabella said, getting up and heading to the door. "I'll be back after with Harry and Sirius. Riley Augustine's going to give me call when they arrive in South West England, then I'm going to pick them up there. I'll call you after Riley calls me."

"Great, thank you," Remus said, shutting the door behind Isabella. Right now, he had a certain Headmaster to visit.

-

A/N: Well, here's the chapter I promised. Hope you like, and I hope you don't find it to rushed or something, really, this is one of the longest chapters that I've written...

Anyway, for the next chapter, I have no clue how long it takes for a Plane to arrive to Paris from Massachusetts.If anyone knows, could you please tell me? Thank you!


	16. Chapter 16

A/N: Responses:

Jessica01: Ohhh! Thank you for the elaboration :-) I'll have to check your story out sometime, too.

WolfbainKohaku: Hah, hah…hintDumbledorehint

LittleCrazy1: hmm…I dunno…just another character that I wanted to add to this, and wanted him to be related to another character in a way. Sorry I can't explain this right, or if what you wrote needed to be explained…sorry again, lol, if I'm confusing you, 'cause I'm confusing myself.

Purtyinpink71121: Hmm…no, not really. I just thought that Harry would need someway to walk, so I thought crutches would be perfect, lol.

Purtyinpink71121: THANK YOU! Yeah, I kinda guessed around there, too. And, again, thank you!

Anyway, sorry if I get any times wrong or something. Not the best at that, plus I have a terrible headache, which doesn't help at all. Anyway, here it is…

* * *

Chapter Sixteen 

"Wake up," Sirius said, nudging Harry lightly in the ribs. Harry opened his eyes, blinking.

"We're here?"

"Yeah," Sirius replied. "Come on."

"Ivayla Maeve should be easy to spot," Harry said with a yawn as they got off the plane. "She'd look a bit like Nevaeh."

"Maybe—""

"Harry Potter?" Someone asked, coming up to Harry and Sirius. "And…er, Sirius Black? I'm Ivayla, Nevaeh said I'd be meeting you here?"

"Yeah," Harry said,noticing that Ivayla had a bit of a French accent.

"I thought so," Ivayla said. "She said that you had crutches. Very easy to spot." She paused. "You look tired. Jet lag?"

"Maybe," Harry yawned.

"Well, how about souper?" Ivayla asked. "Er, supper, I mean. Antoine should be home soon. He's my husband."

"Is he bilingual?" Harry asked, wondering if her husband was since she was.

"He's trying to learn," Ivayla replied. "I'm teaching him—" She let out a laugh, "—Though, he's not doing very good." Harry and Sirius followed Ivayla out of the airport. "I live just down the road a ways," she informed them.

-

"Ivayla! Sont-ceux-ci le deux vous parliez de, l'amour?" A man, who Harry immediately knew was Antoine, said enthusiastically as he, Sirius and Ivayla arrived at her home.

"Oui," Ivayla replied in French. "A un bon jour au travail, Antoine?"

"Non," Antoine responded, kissing her cheek. "Manquer trop occupé vous."

"Well," Ivayla said, clearing her voice. She turned to Sirius and Harry. "You can make yourself at home while I start dinner. Relax a while, maybe," she suggested. She gave her husband a quick peck on the cheek before turning around, heading towards the kitchen. In a quick second she returned.

"Me rappelle quand c'est le temps pour moi prendre Harry et Sirius à l'aéroport, Antoine, fera vous pas s'il vous plaît?"

Antoine smiled. "Bien sûr, l'amour—" he paused. "Quand leur vol est?"

"Euh—" Ivayla bit her lip in thought. "Autour de cinq, je pense."

"Accord," Antoine replied.

"Merci." Sirius and Harry exchanged unknowing glances, having not a clue in the world what the two were talking about, only that it was something about them.

-

"So," Ivayla said conversationally as they finished their dinner. "How'd you end up all the way in Wisconsin without any money?" Sirius opened his mouth to say something, but was interrupted by Ivayla herself. "I'm sorry," she apologized quickly. "I shouldn't have said that. I'm just too nosy for my own good."

"It's all right," Sirius said. "And, it's a bit complicated."

"No problem," Ivayla said, getting up to put the dishes in the sink.

"Ah, me permettre d'obtenir cela," Antoine said, getting up from his own chair and getting the dishes. Ivayla gave Antoine a grateful smile.

"Merci, Antoine." She settled back down in her chair. "We should be going soon," she said in English to Sirius and Harry.

"Presque cinq, aimer que j'ai dit," Antoine said with a grin.

"Merci, Antoine," Ivayla replied, with a bit of sarcasm to match her grin.

"De rien," Antoine replied from by the sink, plopping them into the soapy water lightly, as to not shatter them.

Ivayla glanced at her watch curiously. "Antoine, quelle heure est-il?"

"Presque cinq," Antoine responded.

"Ma montre se cassé," Ivayla cried out. Antoine looked at her softly.

"Vous le ferez, Ivayla. Vous devez aller maintenant, cependant, avant qu'ils manquent leur vol."

Ivayla nodded, getting up. "My watch's broken," she informed Sirius and Harry. "If we don't go now, you'll miss your flight."

-

"Thank you for dinner," Sirius said as he and Harry stood by the entrance to the plane. "It was great."

"It was no problem," Ivayla responded. "And, anytime your in Paris, you should come by."

Harry grinned. "We will."

"Au revoir."

-

"You should get some rest," Sirius said as he and Harry settled into some seats on the plane. "You look tired, and you probably have jet lag."

"You get some rest, too, then," Harry said. "Because it's not just me that has jet lag."

"I know," Sirius replied, and found that he had fallen asleep before Harry did.

-

A/N: Sorry, but I had a writers block in the middle of this chapter. I finished it, though!

And sorry again if I got any of the times wrong. I am not good at the different time zones. And I don't know what time it would be in England, maybe sometime at night?

Anyway…I'll post the next chapter soon. Oh, wait, and if you don't know what Ivayla and Antoine were saying (and if you want to, that is) let me know and I'll post their conversation on the next chapter.


	17. Chapter 17

A/N: Responses:

vegetarians will rule the Earth: Thank you.

Dancegirlem24: Lol, thank you, and here's the next chapter.

purtyinpink71121: That's good, and thank you.

Jessica01: Sure, I'll put the translation down below. And, uh, luggage? They were kidnapped and held in a cell…what luggage?

WolfbainKohaku: Well, thank you, and I'll put the translation down below.

Again, I don't know the flight times, so I'm going to say about 5-6 hours for the plane ride? I'm not sure…so bear with me…and England is an hour behind Paris, aren't they? Well, sorry for the questions. I'll start the story now.

* * *

Chapter Seventeen 

"All right," Sirius said as they got off the plane. They stood in the middle of the England airport. "Riley Augustine. Usually, they always find us—"

"So let's sit down and rest while this Riley Augustine tries to find us," Harry said, seating himself on a bench.

"We should help out a bit, too, you know," Sirius pointed out.

"How? We have no clue what they look like. We don't even know if it's a girl or not." Sirius sighed, sitting next to Harry on the bench. That was true, they hadn't a clue about anything about Riley Augustine. Just the name.

"What time is it?" Harry mumbled out through a yawn.

"Not sure," Sirius replied, his eyes wandering the airport. He had seen so many (to him, anyways) that he was getting a bit tired of airports and planes.

"Please say you're Harry and Sirius Black," a woman said, coming up in front of them with a desperate face. "I'm supposed to meet them here and take them to South Gloucestershire, but—"

"I'm Sirius Black," Sirius interrupted, stopping the girl from babbling on. "And this is Harry Potter." The girl, presumably Riley Augustine, looked utterly relieved.

"Good, then you're the two I'm looking for." She checked her watch. "I should call Isabella now and tell her that I found you. I don't know what time we'll stop at South Gloucestershire so I'm making a valid guess. Ivayla Maeve Dubois did tell you that I drop you off at South Gloucestershire and from there you'll meet Isabella Jessup, didn't she?"

"Yeah," Sirius replied. "She did."

"Well then," Riley said. "We should head out now before it gets too dark out."

-

Riley Augustine didn't keep up an ongoing conversation, and all three were sometimes left with uncomfortable, awkward silences. Once or twice Harry, Sirius or Riley would speak up, but then they'd all fall back into that relapse of silence.

"So how old is Isabella's little one?" Sirius decided to ask, finding that the silence was nagging at him. It was just too awkward.

"Good," Riley replied, keeping her eyes on the road. "Smart little one for a three and a half months. Funny little girl, too, the way she flips around on the floor," she added, laughing. "Willow's a wonderful sister to Nevaeda. She's turned four in January."

"Wasn't Nevaeda born in January?" Sirius asked uncertainly.

"Yes," Riley replied. "Nevaeda's birthday's on the eighth of January when Willow's is on the eighteenth." She pulled into an empty space by the road, where another car was parked in front of them. "This is your stop here." Sirius helped Harry out of the car, and was greeted by Isabella.

"Harry!" She exclaimed, rushing over to Harry and checking him for any cuts or bruises with her eyes. "What happened to you? You're on crutches!"

"I just hurt my foot," Harry said, a little embarrassed. He never had anyone act so motherly towards him, except Mrs. Weasley.

"As soon as you have a rest I'm going to be taking you to a doctor and get him to look at it," Isabella said pausing. She looked Sirius over, almost suspiciously. "Sirius," she acknowledged briefly. Yep, definitely suspicious, Sirius realized.

"Isabella," Sirius said. Isabella turned her attention back to Harry, her eyes flicking on Sirius for an instant.

"You two better have an exceptional reason for going all the way to Wisconsin!" She exclaimed, leading them back towards her car. She pulled out her cell phone, shaking her head. "Did you go there for a shopping spree?" She flipped the phone over, dialing various numbers.

"Remus?" She said into the phone. "Huh? Yeah, I've got them. They're fine, at least—" She paused, glancing at Sirius. "—at least Sirius here is. Huh? Yeah, that's right. Harry's on crutches." She waited until Remus finished. "I don't know. Why don't you ask him once I drop them off? I don't know what you're talking about, but you'll just have to find out when I drop Sirius and Harry off. Yes, yes, they look fine," she sighed. "Stop asking questions and let me drive them home. Thank you." She flipped the phone back over, looking at Sirius and Harry.

"Remus Lupin was quite worried about you," she said to Harry. "I told him that I'd call him when you arrived in South Gloucestershire. So, get in. He's pretty anxious to see if you're all right."  
-

Remus sat by the phone, waiting for the phone call Isabella Jessup was suppose to give him.

"Hello?" He said into the receiver as the phone started to ring. "Yeah. Is Harry with you? Is he all right?" He waited impatiently until Isabella finished. "Sirius? He's there, too? What!" Remus exclaimed, wanting an explanation of why Harry was on crutches. "How? And how is Sirius possibly there? He fell behind the veil…I saw him…" By now, Remus was talking to himself and not to Isabella. "Well, are you sure they're okay? Fine. Fine, I'll stop asking questions." He hung up the receiver as Isabella emphasized, "Thank you." He leaned against the couch, letting his head fall back. Harry was in South Gloucestershire, and so was…Sirius?

-

"Please tell me where you've been," Isabella said, keeping her eyes on the road. "I mean, why you were all the way in Wisconsin? I don't mean to be nosy, but when I went to visit you Remus Lupin said that Harry was kidnapped and Sirius was dead. How's that possible? By the looks of it, you aren't dead, and I don't know about the kidnapping thing."

Harry wished he could tell Isabella about what was really going on. She had been so kind and motherly towards him during the years, he had to bite his lip to keep from telling her the truth. "I wish I could tell you Mrs. O'Bri—Mrs. Jessup," Harry corrected himself. "It's hard to explain, it really is."

"Just tell me," Isabella said quietly. "Were you really kidnapped, Harry? And did Sirius really 'die'?" Sirius and Harry stayed quiet, in no rush to tell Isabella. She just sighed as she pulled into the driveway. "Here you are. I'll come by tomorrow and see how you all are doing."

"Isabella," Sirius said before he got out. "Why didn't you tell us that you had a brother, Charlie?"

"We're not really close," Isabella admitted. "Not as close as I'd like to be. He's more of a distant relative than a brother to me, really." Sirius nodded, knowing that that was all Isabella wanted to say. He helped Harry out of the car, even though his godson had the assistance of the crutches.

"Honey," Sirius called out as he and Harry came into the house, "we're home." Remus's head shot up from the couch, his eyes wide as he saw Sirius and Harry in the doorway.

"Thank god," he said as he got up from the couch and made his way towards Harry, giving him a light, fatherly hug. "You scared me half to death."

"Sorry," Harry apologized with a grin.

"Aren't I going to get a hug?" Sirius asked with a playful pout. "I was in Wisconsin, too!" Remus looked over Sirius carefully, suspiciously.

"It's all right," Harry said. "It's really him, Remus."

"Are you sure?" Remus asked. "We thought that the last time, and look what happened."

"I'm positive," Harry said.

"You're a hundred percent positive?"

"Absolutely."

"Two hundred percent positive?"

"Two hundred percent."

"Three hundred percent positive?"

"Remus!"

"Sorry," Remus apologized.

"No jokes," Sirius spoke up. "I'm really me." Remus sighed.

"We'll see. I'm not going to believe so easily this time," he said determinedly. Sirius sighed himself, in no mood to argue with Remus.

"Fine. I'm going to bed."

"Do you need help finding it?" Remus asked, eyebrows raised.

"No," Sirius replied. "I know where my own room is. Why wouldn't I?"

"Just seeing," Remus replied, still looking like he wasn't convinced that this was Sirius.

-

A/N: Here's the chapter. I'll post the translation for the previous chapter down below:

Antoine: "Ivayla! Are those here the two you talked about, love?"

Ivayla: "Yes. Have a good day at work, Antoine?"

Antoine: "No. Too busy missing you."

-

Ivayla: "Remind me when this it's time for me to take Harry and Sirius to the airport, Antoine, will you please?"

Antoine: "Of course, love. When is their flight?"

Ivayla: "Uh—around five, I think."

Antoine: "Okay."

Ivayla: "Thank you."

-

Antoine: "Ah, let me get that." (Talking about the dishes.)

Ivayla: "Thank you, Antoine."

Antoine: "It's five, love!"

Ivayla (a bit sarcastically): "Thank you, Antoine." (since he forgot to tell her the time, and only remembered when she suggested they leave.)

Antoine: "You're welcome."

Ivayla (glancing at her watch with a confused expression): "Antoine, what time is it?"

Antoine: "Almost five, like I said."

Ivayla: "My watch's broken!"

Antoine: "You'll get there, Ivayla. You must go now, nevertheless, before they miss their flight."

-

Ivayla: Goodbye. (saying to Harry and Sirius as they board the plane.)

-

Well, there's the translation! Keep checking back for the next chapter, which I'll be writing as soon as I post this.


	18. Chapter 18

A/N: Responses:

Jessica01: Lol, yeah, I suppose you do.

vegetarians will rule the Earth: Thank you! Really glad you like it.

WolfbainKohaku: You're welcome. I'm glad your glad that Sirius and Harry are home. And thank you.

* * *

Chapter Eighteen 

Harry woke up, feeling for the first time really at home. Maybe that was because he _was _home, and not someplace in Wisconsin, Massachusetts or Paris.

He searched for the crutches, finally finding them sprawled out on the floor. They must've fallen over in his sleep.

"Hi," Harry greeted Remus, who was sitting at the table staring into space. He came back to reality as he saw Harry sit across from him.

"Hi."

"Is Sirius still sleeping?" Harry asked casually.

"Yeah," Remus replied stiffly.

Harry sighed. "Moony—"

"Harry," Remus interrupted. "What happened the _last _time we thought that Sirius was…well…Sirius?"

"I know," Harry said. "But it was _Lucius Malfoy _impersonating Sirius."

"Lucius Malfoy?" Remus repeated.

Harry nodded in response. "Lucius Malfoy. He was using the Polyjuice Potion to change his appearance or something. I-I don't know." Harry let his eyes wander the house until they stopped at Sirius's door. "He was there in the cell with me. I got him to answer, uh, questions. That only Sirius would know, and he answered both of them." He was talking about Sirius.

"I'm not letting my guard down so easily, Harry," Remus said softly. "Last time I did it got you kidnapped."

"It's not your fault," Harry said. "It's mine, I should've been more careful. But I'm here, and I _know _that that's Sirius."

"That's what you said the last time, Harry," Remus pointed out.

"I'm _three hundred _percent positive that it's really _him_," Harry said with a grin.

"I'm still not letting my guard down," Remus replied. "No matter what you think, Harry." The phone started to ring before Remus could add anything on to his sentence, and Harry was only to eager to get it.

"I've got it," he told Remus. He got up from the chair and picked up the phone.

"Hello?"

"Harry," came Isabella's cheerful voice. "I hope I'm not interrupting anything important."

"Nope."

"Good," Isabella said. "Because if you feel up to it, I can come by around lunch and take you to the hospital to get your foot looked at. That is, if Sirius doesn't want to."

"Er—sure," Harry replied. "Yeah, you can come over around lunch."

"Great," Isabella said. Harry heard her sigh as a wail in the background started ringing through the phone. "I better go, Harry. Nevaeda's getting fussy. I'll see you."

"Bye." Harry hung up the phone. He turned to Remus."I'm going to the hospital in a couple hours."

-

"Willow," Isabella said with a sigh. "Stay by me. Don't start running around, honey. This is a hospital."

"Sowwy," Willow apologized with a blush of embarrassment. Isabella squeezed Willow's hand lightly and grinned at Harry.

"She wanted to come, and I could hardly say no," she told him. "She's been pretty eager to meet you after I told her you, uh, were Matt's friend when he—" She coughed, and Harry knew that was as far as she was going to get.

"Waler, Issy?" Willow asked, looking up at her step mom. Isabella smiled at the name Willow used to address her.

"After we get the doctor to check Harry's leg out, okay? Then I'll get you some water."

"Oast, too?" asked Willow.

"You had toast for breakfast, hun."

"More oast," Willow said. "An' waler." Isabella looked relieved as the doctor called out their name.

"Come on, hun. And remember: stay by me."

"Mr. Potter," the doctor said as he came into the room. "Let's take a look at foot of yours, shall we?"

-

"Where's Harry?" Sirius asked Remus when he woke up. Remus looked up, his face stiff.

"Out with Isabella," he replied simply.

"Where to?"

"The hospital," Remus replied.

Sirius looked at Remus in alarm. "Why? Is Harry all right?"

"Don't try to act so concerned," Remus said, clenching his teeth. "Don't even try it."

"I'm not trying anything," Sirius said. "I care about Harry a lot; he's my godson. Whether you believe me or not, Moony." Remus never took his cold eyes off Sirius until he heard the sound of a door opening.

"Well, we have news," Isabella announced. "Harry has fractured his ankle. The doctor took an x-ray." She glanced down at Harry's foot, which was covered with a plaster cast. "That's why we're a little late." Willow looked up at the two older men shyly.

"So the doctor said to come by in a week or two," Isabella said to Harry.

"Thanks," Harry said. Isabella grinned.

"No problem, Harry. Come on, hun," she said to the little girl that was by her side.

"We go home for oast and waler now?" Willow asked.

"Yup."

-

"What took so long?" Julian said desperately as Willow and Isabella arrived home. "I'm going crazy. She won't stop crying, and I've tried everything!"

"Sorry," Isabella apologized. "I didn't think that it'd take that long." She took the baby from Julian's arms, rocking her back and forth in her own arms and making soothing noises. Slowly, Nevaeda's tears subsided until her eyes started to droop shut. "Poor little baby was just tired," Isabella said softly, still rocking her baby in her arms. She carefully walked to Nevaed's crib and gently set her in, being sure to turn on the two baby monitors.

"I know you're still upset about Matthew," Julian said when Isabella came out. "But don't you think you should back off a bit from Harry? You act almost as if you're _his _mother." Isabella scowled, hurt.

"I am not. I've known Harry for a long time, Julian. Longer than you have. It's not a bad thing to be protective of him. Or feel a bit motherly towards him."

"I'm just saying," Julian said softly. "Try backing off a bit, Izzy. He does have guardians that love him." Isabella pressed her lips together, scowling. She stalked into her room, slamming the door shut. Julian groaned as Nevaeda started to wail.

-

"You mad at daddy?" Willow asked Isabella cautiously as she entered Isabella's bedroom.

"A bit," Isabella admitted. She patted her lap, signaling for Willow to climb up onto it. Willow grinned and did as she was told.

"You sad?" Willow asked. "'Bout Matt?"

"Always," Isabella replied with a sad smile. "And I don't mean to be overprotective of Harry or act too motherly. He almost reminds me of my Matt in a way; he always did." She shook her head and sighed. "I don't know how to explain, Willow."

"Don' be mad," Willow said, giving Isabella's cheek a quick kiss. "Or sad."

-

"I don't want to have this argument again," Harry complained that night.

"I just don't believe it," Remus said.

"Déjà vu," Harry moaned. "_Please, _let's not get into this again."

"I've had a talk with Dumbledore while you were out," Remus said, changing the subject. In a way. "About Sirius, the kidnapping, and Lucius Malfoy."

"Did he find him?" Harry asked. "Did Dumbledore find Lucius Malfoy?"

"Unfortunately, no," Remus replied. "He looked at the place you were talking about in Wisconsin. Anyway, along the way they came across a house by where you were describing. Does Charlie ring a bell?"

"Yeah," Harry replied carefully. "What's wrong with Charlie?"

"Nothing," Remus responded. "But Dumbledore spoke with Charlie, and he says that Charlie said that there was _no _house down by him. Other than his house, that is."

"That's impossible!" Harry exclaimed.

"What's impossible?" Sirius asked, his hair wet from the shower.

"Dumbledore had a visit with Charlie," Harry said. "And Charlie said that there was no house by his house. Or _anywhere _near his house."

"You mean that there was no house with a dungeon or a maze?" Sirius said, looking confused. "That's impossible!"

"That's what I said," Harry said. He turned to Remus. "So did Dumbledore at least _search _for the house?"

"Yeah," Remus responded. "He did. And this Charlie of yours was right, there _wasn't _a house."

"And Lucius Malfoy disappeared along with it," Harry said.

"Yeah," Remus said. Harry exchanged looks with Sirius, who was looking as confused and bewildered as he was.

-

A/N: Well, here's the chapter. I'm just so nice, I decided that since I had the chapter all typed up and junk and I had _eighty _reviews, that I'd post this chappie on for you. Yay me, lol. Anyway…I dunno why I put in a little thing about Isabella and her family. It just sorta fit. So, hope you enjoyed…and I'll post the _epilogue (?)_ soon.


	19. Chapter 19

A/N: Responses:  
vegetarians will rule the Earth: hehe…here's the chap…

Charmedskii: I said 82. And thanks.

Sparkling Oracle: Lol, too lazy, huh? Thanks for the review :-)

HotBlo0ded: Ahh…this isn't the last chapter. I'm glad you like it, and I'm not sure about a sequel.

-

I decided to rate this to T (PG or PG-13) since Isabella will be a potty mouth in this chapter.

* * *

Chapter Nineteen

Remus was greeted by Isabella's solemn face the next morning on the doorstep. "…Hello?" He looked at the woman with uncertainness, since Isabella's eyes were a bit bloodshot and puffy. Like she had been crying.

"Can I speak to Harry and Sirius?" She asked, sniffing.

"Just a second." Remus turned around, not needing to call Harry since he was at the table. "Isabella's here," he told Harry. "She wants to talk to you and…Sirius."

"Sirius isn't up yet," Harry said. Remus turned back to Isabella.

"Come in." Isabella came into the house, taking a deep breath. She gave Harry a smile when she spotted him at the table.

"How you feeling today, Harry?"

"Good, thanks," Harry said, getting up from the table with the assistance of the crutches. "Remus, can you go wake Sirius up?" He asked. This would be the perfect time to prove to Remus that it _was _Sirius. Not an impersonator.

_Sirius was a deep sleeper. Nothing would ever wake him up. We could only wake him up by getting a cup of cold (or hot) water and pouring it on his face._ Harry remembered Remus telling him that once—those were his exact words. Sirius _was _a deep sleeper, and that _was _the only way to wake him up. If this was Sirius (which Harry didn't have a doubt in his mind that it wasn't) then Remus would _not _be able to wake him up.

"Uh…sure," Remus said, going over to Sirius's room and opening the door. He crept over to the bed and shook Sirius. "Wake up. Isabella's here. She wants to talk to you." Sirius just groaned and turned the other way. Remus froze, obviously thinking the same thing Harry was.

"Couldn't wake him up?" Harry asked, trying to conceal his grin as Remus came out of the bedroom with a dazed look on his face.

"No."

"What did I tell you?" Harry said, finally letting a smile spread across his face. "If it wasn't him, Sirius would be up by now." The knowing smile still on his face, Harry went over to the sink and pulled out a cup from the cupboard. Turning the sink on, he filled the cup up with ice cold water halfway. He turned back around and handed the cup over to Remus.  
"Here."

"Do I even need to ask?" Isabella's voice came from over by the couch. Harry had forgotten about her, and obviously Remus did, too.

"Nope," Harry replied. He made his way over to the couch and sat down, waiting until he heard a yelp from Sirius. A sign that Remus and poured the water on his face, and he was up.

Sirius came out of his bedroom, shaking his head like a dog getting rid of water from its fur. No wonder, since Sirius was a dog.

"Good," Isabella said quietly. "You're up."

"Hi," Sirius greeted, sitting by Harry. "Any reason you came by here at…nine o'clock in the morning?"

"Yeah," Isabella said. "An important one."

"Are you pregnant again?" Sirius said suddenly. "Is that what you're going to tell us?" Isabella let out a laugh.

"No. I'm not pregnant." She let out a nervous sigh and bit her lip. "There's no way I can put this. There is absolutely no possible way…"

"Then just tell us in any way possible," Harry suggested.

"Well," Isabella said slowly. "I think that…that we should take some time away from each other."

"Meaning—?" Harry said, feeling extremely confused.

"Just what I said," she replied. "We should take some time away from each other."

"Oh," Sirius said bluntly. "You're saying you don't want to be friends anymore."

"I told you there was no possible way to tell you," Isabella said, getting up. "Bye."

-

"Are you happy?" Isabella exclaimed out of anger when she arrived home. "Are you happy, Julian? I broke off my friendship with Harry and Sirius, so you damn well better be happy!"

"I didn't tell you to break your friendship off with them," Julian tried to reason. "I just thought that you should kind of…lay off a bit."

"Well I'm not friends with them anymore! So be _happy!_"

"Izzy," Julian said softly. "You'll wake the baby."

"I don't care," she said, tears running down her face. "Just leave me alone." In déjà vu, Isabella stomped into her room and slammed the door, waking Nevaeda up from her sleep. The baby's cries echoed through the house and Julian groaned.

-

"Izzy," Julian said quietly, coming into the room.

"Go away," Isabella hissed, her eyes bloodshot and puffy. Her face was stained with dried tears.

"Just listen," Julian said, sitting on the bed by his wife.

"Where's Willow?" Isabella asked, wiping her eyes. "And the baby?"

"Willow's looking at picture books," Julian replied, thankful that his wife was at least speaking to him. "And Nevaeda's asleep in her crib." Julian wrapped an arm around Isabella, but she shrugged him off. "Isabella, you can you still go back there and apologize. I know they're still willing to be your friend."

"After what happened?" Isabella said, laughing almost hysterically. "Like hell they will." Julian frowned. Isabella never used to swear like that. She must be really upset.

Isabella got up the bed, stubbing her toe along the way. "Shit!" She exclaimed, tears bubbling up in her eyes.

"Isabella," Julian said, frowning. "What's wrong with you?"

"You made me lose my son," Isabella screamed, turning around to face Julian wildly. "You killed my son! Y…you made me l…lose my son!"

"I didn't," Julian said, getting up and wrapping his arms around Isabella. "I didn't kill Matthew, Isabella."

"You killed my son…you killed my Mattie…" Isabella repeated over and over again.

"Shh, Isabella. I didn't kill Matthew." Isabella pushed away from her husband.

"You did, though," she debated. "You caused me to break my friendship with Harry and Sirius. Don't you see, Julian? They were the only thing left that I had of Matt. They were the only reminder of Matt to me. By you making me break my friendship with them, you killed my son over again."

"I didn't _make _you break your friendship with them, though," Julian said. "You did that all on your own."

"Shut up!" Isabella screamed. "Just _shut up._"

"Da'ee," Willow said, standing in the doorway finishing her cookie. "Wha's wrong with Issy, daddy?"

"She's upset," Julian said. "Izzy will be fine, though."

"You killed Matt!" Isabella cried, tugging at her hair. "You killed my son!" Julian got up from the bed.

"Come on, Willow," Julian said quietly. "Go get your coat. You, me and the baby are going on a little trip." Willow's eyes shone.

"Where?"

"Somewhere," Julian responded. "Go, get your boots on. I'll get Nevaeda."

"Is Issy going to come, too?"

"Not for this trip," Julian said. "We'll come back in a few hours, though. Once Isabella calms down."

"'Tay," Willow said, running to the closet.

"Izzy," said Julian calmly. Isabella just repeated, "You killed my son," over and over again, screaming and tugging at her hair. "Izzy? I'm taking Willow and Nevaeda and we're leaving until you calm down and act rationally instead of this nonsense." Without waiting for a reply, Julian got out of the room and went to the baby's crib, picking her up gently.

"No," Isabella cried, rushing out of the room. "Don't take my baby. You've already taken one of them away from me, don't take the other. Please."

"I'll bring her back after you calm down," Julian said. "I'm afraid you might hurt Willow or Nevaeda. You're not yourself." And he left.

-

"No," Sirius said briefly. "She made it clear that she doesn't want to be friends anymore. I don't see why it's _us _going over to try to reason with _her._"

"I just don't see what's going on," Harry said. "When did this dawn on her so fast? Just doesn't make any sense."

"Still."

"Fine," Harry said. "You can stay. I'm going." He turned to Remus, who was staring off into space. "Remus? You gonna come with me?"

"Huh?" Remus looked up at Harry.

"Never mind," Harry said. He went over to the door, opening it up and stepping outside.

"Fine!" Harry heard Sirius say in exasperation. "I'm coming, too." Harry's brow furrowed as he saw three people walking down the street.

"Hey," he said quietly, not taking his eyes off the pedestrians. "Isn't that Julian? And Willow and Nevaeda?"

"Yeah," Sirius said, his brow furrowing too. "Where's Isabella?"

"I dunno," Harry said. Willow seemed to notice Harry and Sirius too, because she started tugging at Julian's sleeve and saying something. Julian looked over to where Willow was pointing, and he shook his head. He turned back to Willow and said something, and the little girl ran over to them.

"You goin' see Issy?" Willow asked.

"Yeah, why?" Harry asked.

"Don' go my home," Willow said, shaking her head. "We goin' see Gramma! Issy isn't…feelin' good."

"Feeling good?" Sirius repeated. "Is she sick? Because she just came too see us, and she seemed fine."

"She goin' cwazy," Willow replied. "She sayin' daddy kill 'Att." Harry and Sirius exchanged glances.

"We'll go see if we can do anything to help her, okay?" Sirius said. Willow hesitated before answering.

"'Tay. Be sure she don't hurt you, though." Willow ran back over to Julian.

"Why would she say that Julian killed Matt?" Harry said to Sirius. Sirius shook his head.

-

"Get out," Isabella screeched as Sirius and Harry invited themselves in. "Just get the hell out!"

"Isabella," Sirius tried. She wouldn't listen.

"Get the hell out of my house! Just get out! H…he took both my babies! GET OUT!" Her hiccupping sobs soon stopped as she took in the sight of Harry.

"Matt?" She whispered, carefully walking towards Harry. "…Matt?" Harry and Sirius exchanged looks.

"N…No. It's Harry," Harry said slowly.

"Matt," Isabella said more confidently. "My Matt…you came back…" She threw her arms around Harry and squeezed him tightly. "Never leave me again, Matt. Please. Stay with me, don't leave me again."

-

A/N: **_This is not the epilogue._** Just to let you all know, this is not the ending. I want to have at least twenty chapters, and this is the longest that I've ever written. I didn't know if this was going to be the ending or not, so that's why it's pretty long. Anyway, I **_think _**the next chapter _**will be the ending.**_ I don't know. So…thank you for the reviews.


	20. Epilogue

A/N: Responses:

WolfbainKohaku: Lol. Here's the update.

Jmljasmine: :-), Thank you very, very much :-D. I appreciate that.

vegetarians will rule the Earth: Thank you.

LittleCrazy1: Hah, hahah.

Purtyinpink71121: Thank you, here's the chapter.

-

I can't believe what some people did as I was searching around on the Internet for Harry Potter things. Did you know that people posed as J.K. Rowling (In China) and published fake Harry Potter books entitled, "Harry Potter and Leopard-Walk-Up-To-Dragon," "Harry Potter and the Porcelain Doll," "Harry Potter and the Golden Turtle," and "Harry Potter and the Crystal Vase." There are more, too, I think.

On the Internet, I also read that the beginning of "Harry Potter and Leopard-Walk-Up-To-Dragon" went like this:

_"Harry doesn't know how long it will take to wash the sticky cream cake off his face. For a civilised young man it is disgusting to have dirt on any part of his body. He lies in the high-quality bathtub, keeps wiping his face, and thinks about Dudley's face, which is as fat as the bottom of Aunt Petunia."_

I think that's pretty…I dunno…stupid for someone to do that and say that it was by J.K. Rowling and even put her picture on the back?

* * *

Epilogue 

"Oh, Matt," Isabella cried, stroking Harry's cheek with her hand. "I died right along with you…"

"Help me," Harry hissed to Sirius, who was looking at the two with amusement. "She thinks I'm Matt!"

"I can see that."

"Uh, Mrs—Mrs. Jessup? Maybe you should lie down," Harry tried. Isabella looked up at Harry in confusion, but her eyes shone and sparkled with laughter and joy.

"Mrs. Jessup? When have I been 'Mrs. Jessup' to you, mister?" She said. "You look absolutely exhausted, Mattie. What happened to your leg?" Harry cast Sirius a glance.

"Uh…I, uh, hurt it, er, _mum. _M-maybe you should lie down, get some rest."

Isabella laughed out loud. "Since when have you been the adult, Matt?" She walked over to the mirror and checked her reflection. Blond hair tangled and messed, eyes bloodshot and puffy, face stained with tears. "Ooh, maybe I _should _get a shower." She turned back to Harry and Sirius. "Will you watch over my Mattie, Sirius? Just until I get out." Sirius nodded, trying to bite back his smile. "Great, thanks." She gave Harry a smile before stepping into the bathroom and shutting the door shut.

"So what are you going to do, _Mattie?_" Sirius said, finally letting a smile forming on his lips.

"Shut up," Harry said. "And I don't know. She just won't listen to me when I told her I wasn't Matt." Sirius sighed, finding that he just couldn't keep smiling anymore.

"Maybe after she gets out of the shower she'll…come back to normal."

"Maybe."

-

"Ah, Matt," Isabella said cheerfully after she got out of the shower. "Would you like something to eat, hun?"

"N-no, I'm fine…_mum,_" Harry said, finding it hard to get out. Isabella grinned.

"Okay. Just tell me when you want something and I'll get it, 'kay?"

"Sure."

Isabella turned to Sirius. "Thank you for looking after Matt for me. You can go now if you like."

"No…I think I should stay," Sirius said, giving Harry a look. He caught on.

"Oh, yeah. I really would rather him stay, mum."

"Oh," Isabella said. "All right, then. Can I get you anything, Sirius?" Sirius shook his head.

"Shouldn't you go apologize to Julian or something?" He suggested. Isabella couldn't possibly have looked anymore confused.

"Who?"

"You're husband," Sirius reminded her.

"Oh, right," Isabella said. "Maybe after." She turned to Harry. "Would you like to go visit Harry, Matt? I'm sure he'd be absolutely thrilled to see you again."

"I _am _Harry," Harry said, finally being able to laugh out loud. "I am Harry Potter, not Matt, Mrs. Jessup." Isabella started to laugh.

"Don't be silly, dear."

"He's right, Isabella," Sirius spoke up. "That is Harry." The laughter soon died from Isabella's lips, and she frowned.

"I think maybe you should leave."

"I can't," said Sirius. "Not unless Harry comes with me."

"I don't know what you're talking about," Isabella argued. "That's Matt. Not Harry."

"I think there's someplace that Harry and I should take you to."

"And where, pray, is that?"

"You'll see." Sirius turned to Harry. "You know where I'm talking about, kiddo?" He asked quietly. Harry shook his head.

"Where?"

"You know," Sirius hissed. "The graveyard where Matt's buried."

"We can't possibly walk there," Harry said, eyebrows shooting up in surprise. Sirius shrugged.

"Maybe the breeze will straighten Isabella out or something." Harry started to laugh.

-

"What are we doing here?" Isabella asked tentatively. She looked around the graveyard.

"There's something you need to see," Sirius said. He brought Isabella over to Matt's tomb. Isabella's chest started to rise and fall rapidly with her breathing, and she squatted over the tombstone.

"Oh god," she breathed. "'_Matthew Christopher O'Brien, 1980 to 1993.'_" She read the rest in her head. When she finished, she glanced up at Harry.

"…Harry?" Harry nodded. Isabella burst into tears. "Just take me home now."

-

"Shh," Julian soothed his wife, letting her bury her head into his chest.

"I'm so sorry," Isabella sobbed. "So sorry…s…so sorry…" Julian looked up at Sirius and Harry, mouthing a grateful and relieved 'Thank you.' Isabella was able to stop sobbing enough to look up at Harry and Sirius.

"I'm sorry," she apologized. "I don't know what I was talking about. And I don't know what I'd do without you two as my friends. I'd like to have you two back…if you'd let me."

Sirius smiled. "Of course. How 'bout it, kid?" He said to Harry.

"If we must," Harry said with a playful grin. Isabella just grinned.

"That was…something," Harry said when he and Sirius left the Jessup house.

"Mmm," Sirius agreed. "Now we can finally go home and just _relax_. I really haven't done that in a while."

"Yeah," Harry agreed. "Me neither." They walked home in silence until they stepped into their house. Sirius flopped down on the couch, and Harry (with some difficulty, but just a bit) sat down beside him.

"I don't think I'm ever going to be able to convince Remus that you're not some 'impersonator,'" Harry said forlornly. Sirius grinned faintly.

"It's all right. He'll come around some day, 'cause whether or not you like it, you're stuck with me, kid."

Harry grinned. "That doesn't sound _so _bad."

"It shouldn't."

"Still," Harry said, leaning up against Sirius like he used to when he was younger. "I wish there was someway Moony could just _understand _that you're…Sirius."

"I do understand," Remus's voice said from behind the two. He came over and sat down in the chair across from Harry and Sirius.

"That fast?" Harry was impressed. Remus grinned.

"Well, after this morning, it was pretty palpable that that was Sirius."

_Oh yeah, _Harry thought. He had forgot about what happened that morning. Sirius frowned.

"So what if I'm a deep sleeper? I _do _need my beauty sleep once in a while, thank you." Remus's grin grew a bit wider.

"It's good to have you back, Black."

"It's good to be back, Lupin," Sirius said with a grin of his own. And finally it clicked—they were back to normal. As normal as could be, that is.

**_La Fin  
_**  
-

A/N: Sadly, this is the last chapter. Not the longest, but it's pretty explanatory, right? Right.

Okay, folks, the moment you've all been waiting for. You've been anticipating for. You've been holding you breath for. (I think, and hope.)

**Q: Is there a sequel to 'Amnesia' or not?  
**  
**A: Well, folks, here's my answer: There will be _no _sequel to 'Amnesia' _UNLESS _I get an idea for a sequel. I have no thoughts or ideas for a sequel, so it'd be pretty hard to write one if I don't have any thoughts or ideas. But, if I do get one, then you can be sure to look for one. In the mean time, some suggestions or ideas from the readers would be wonderful, and it might even make a spark for a sequel!**

So there's my answer. Thank you for all your kind reviews for this story, I will give you all cookies and milk. (And if you don't like milk, you may take juice or pop.) :-)


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